408th Rifle Division

The 408th Rifle Division was a Soviet Red Army infantry formation created during the rapid expansion of the armed forces after the German invasion of the Soviet Union. It began forming on 14 August 1941 in Yerevan, in the Transcaucasus Military District, alongside the 409th Rifle Division. Although officially designated an Armenian national division, its personnel were drawn from several communities of the Transcaucasus and did not constitute an Armenian-majority formation. The recorded composition was approximately 31 percent Russian and Ukrainian, 25 percent Georgian, 23 percent Azerbaijani, and 21 percent Armenian. The division was organized according to the Red Army’s wartime establishment for a rifle division. Its principal combat elements were the 663rd, 670th, and 672nd Rifle Regiments, supported by the 963rd Artillery Regiment and a range of antitank, antiaircraft, mortar, reconnaissance, engineer, communications, medical, transport, supply, veterinary, postal, and financial units. Colonel Pavel Nikolaievich Kitzuk commanded the division throughout its existence, while Major, later Lieutenant Colonel, Leonid Kolobov served as chief of staff from September 1941 until August 1942. For most of its first year, the 408th did not participate in major offensive operations. It served in the 45th Army along the Soviet frontier with Turkey and as part of the Soviet occupation force in Iran. This assignment reflected the strategic importance of the Transcaucasus, where Soviet forces guarded the southern border, protected communications, and monitored the approaches to the Caucasus and Middle Eastern region. The division’s time in this area also meant that it entered the decisive 1942 Caucasus campaign with limited experience as a large-scale combat formation. The German summer offensive of 1942 changed the division’s role. The German 17th Army advanced through the Caucasus toward the Black Sea ports, with Tuapse as a major objective. In response, the 408th was transferred toward the Tuapse Defense Region. Its units were dispersed for defensive duties, and the 672nd Rifle Regiment was detached in September to the 47th Army to help defend mountain passes north of Tuapse. By 23 September, the division as a whole served as the 47th Army’s reserve. The formation’s combat career was brief and ended in October 1942. German forces of the XXXXIX Mountain Corps gradually advanced through difficult terrain and reached the division’s position on 14 October. On 21 October, an attack from the Gunaika River valley toward Goitkh and Georgievskoe began after a heavy artillery bombardment. The bombardment struck the 408th Division’s headquarters near Mount Semashkho, killing or wounding much of the command staff. The resulting collapse of command and control contributed to the breakdown of the division’s defensive position and that of the adjacent 107th Rifle Brigade. German troops captured Goitkh, encircled much of the division, and destroyed most of its remaining strength. Small groups escaped and made contact with the nearby 353rd and 383rd Rifle Divisions. The remnants were withdrawn to the Tuapse Defense Region. Rather than rebuild the division, the 47th Army distributed its surviving personnel and equipment among other formations. The 408th Rifle Division was officially disbanded on 25 November 1942. It therefore existed for roughly fifteen months and had a limited operational record, principally involving border security, occupation duty in Iran, and the unsuccessful defense of the Tuapse approaches.

The 408th Rifle Division was established on 14 August 1941 at Yerevan as the Soviet Union expanded its military establishment during the Second World War. It was formed in the Transcaucasus Military District at the same time as the nearby 409th Rifle Division. The division was formally categorized as an Armenian national formation, but its actual personnel composition was multinational. Russian and Ukrainian personnel represented the largest combined category, followed by Georgians, Azerbaijanis, and Armenians. Armenians constituted about one-fifth of the recorded strength rather than a majority. Its organization followed the Red Army’s wartime structure for rifle divisions. The division included three rifle regiments—the 663rd, 670th, and 672nd—together with the 963rd Artillery Regiment. Supporting units included antitank and antiaircraft formations, a mortar battalion, reconnaissance, engineering, signals, medical, chemical-protection, motor-transport, bakery, veterinary, postal, and field-bank detachments. This structure gave the formation the administrative and logistical components expected of a Soviet infantry division, although its later combat experience was short. Colonel Pavel Nikolaievich Kitzuk commanded the division from its creation until its dissolution. Leonid Kolobov was chief of staff from September 1941 through August 1942. During approximately its first year, the 408th served with the 45th Army along the border with Turkey and participated in the Soviet occupation presence in Iran. These duties placed the division in a strategically sensitive region but did not expose it to the principal battles of the Eastern Front. The German advance into the Caucasus during the summer of 1942 brought the division into active combat. The German 17th Army pushed through the Caucasus passes toward Soviet positions on the Black Sea, particularly the port and defensive area around Tuapse. The 408th was redeployed from the Transcaucasus toward this threatened sector and was assigned to the Tuapse Defense Region. Its components were not always employed together: in September, the 672nd Rifle Regiment was transferred to the 47th Army for the defense of mountain passes north of Tuapse. By 23 September, the division served as a reserve formation within the 47th Army. The division encountered the German XXXXIX Mountain Corps in October. German forces advanced southward through rugged terrain and reached contact with the partly isolated and poorly supplied division on 14 October. On 21 October, a major assault was launched from the Gunaika River valley toward Goitkh and Georgievskoe. An artillery bombardment struck the division headquarters near Mount Semashkho and caused extensive casualties among the command staff. The damage to headquarters personnel and communications severely impaired the division’s ability to coordinate its defense. The German attack broke through the 408th’s position and also affected the neighboring 107th Rifle Brigade. Goitkh was captured, and most of the division was encircled and destroyed. Small groups of survivors escaped and joined elements of the 353rd and 383rd Rifle Divisions. The remaining personnel and equipment were subsequently brought back into the Tuapse Defense Region. Soviet authorities decided not to reconstitute the formation. Instead, its remnants were distributed among other units of the 47th Army, and the 408th Rifle Division was permanently disbanded on 25 November 1942. The division’s historical significance lies less in a long combat record than in what it illustrates about Soviet wartime mobilization. It was established as an ostensibly national formation but reflected the mixed population of the Transcaucasus. Its service also demonstrates the rapid movement of units from border and occupation duties into emergency defensive operations during the German Caucasus offensive. Its destruction near Tuapse, followed by administrative dissolution rather than reconstruction, made it one of the shorter-lived rifle divisions of the Red Army.

• 1942

  Redeployment toward Tuapse

  [1]408th Rifle Divisionen.wikipedia.org

  Following the German advance into the Caucasus, the division moved toward the Tuapse Defense Region and became associated with the 47th Army’s defensive reserve.

• 1942

  672nd Regiment detached

  [1]408th Rifle Divisionen.wikipedia.org

  In September, the 672nd Rifle Regiment was detached to the 47th Army to defend mountain passes north of Tuapse.

• 1942

  Destruction near Mount Semashkho

  [1]408th Rifle Divisionen.wikipedia.org

  On 21 October, German artillery and ground attacks near the Gunaika River, Goitkh, and Georgievskoe devastated the division’s headquarters and caused the collapse of most of its defensive position.

• 1942

  Disbandment

  [1]408th Rifle Divisionen.wikipedia.org

  The division’s surviving personnel and equipment were distributed to other 47th Army formations, and the 408th Rifle Division was permanently disbanded on 25 November.

• 1941

  Formation at Yerevan

  [1]408th Rifle Divisionen.wikipedia.org

  The division began forming on 14 August in Yerevan within the Transcaucasus Military District, alongside the 409th Rifle Division.

• 1941

  Assignment to the Transcaucasus and Iranian occupation area

  [1]408th Rifle Divisionen.wikipedia.org

  The 408th served for most of its first year with the 45th Army along the Turkish frontier and in the Soviet occupation force in Iran.

A wartime Red Army rifle division organized for infantry combat, border defense, occupation duty, and reinforcement of the Caucasus theater.

• 1942Tuapse Defense Region

  Caucasus · Soviet Union

  The division was redeployed to help resist the German advance through the Caucasus toward Tuapse. Its units were dispersed, with the 672nd Regiment separately committed to mountain-pass defense and the remainder used within the 47th Army’s defensive system.

  Outcome. German attacks in October destroyed most of the division; the survivors were withdrawn and absorbed by other Soviet formations.

  Source
• 1941Transcaucasus border and Iran service

  Soviet Transcaucasus and northern Iran

  For nearly its entire first year, the division performed military duties with the 45th Army along the Soviet-Turkish border and as part of the Soviet occupation force in Iran. These assignments were primarily strategic security and occupation responsibilities rather than major offensive combat.

  Outcome. The division remained intact until its transfer to the Tuapse theater in 1942.

  Source

• 1942

  Redeployment to the Tuapse sectorStrategy

  Background

  The German 17th Army’s advance through the Caucasus threatened Soviet positions and ports on the eastern Black Sea coast.

  Action taken

  The 408th was moved toward the Tuapse Defense Region and employed within the 47th Army’s defensive arrangements.

  Aftermath

  The division was exposed to the October fighting, suffered the destruction of its headquarters and most of its strength, and was not rebuilt.

  Source

• 1942

  Distribution of remnants and permanent dissolutionOther

  Background

  After the division was largely destroyed around Goitkh and Georgievskoe, only scattered groups and residual personnel remained.

  Action taken

  The 47th Army distributed the surviving men and equipment among other formations instead of reconstituting the division.

  Aftermath

  The 408th Rifle Division ceased to exist as an independent formation on 25 November.

  Source

1. 1408th Rifle Divisionen.wikipedia.org