The 214th Rifle Division was an infantry division of the Red Army, originally formed in the months just before the start of the German invasion, based on the shtat (table of organization and equipment) of September 13, 1939. It was moved to the fighting front to join 22nd Army in late June and took part in the fighting between Vitebsk and Nevel in early July, escaping from encirclement in the process, and then played a significant role in the liberation of Velikiye Luki, the first Soviet city to be retaken from the invading armies. In October it was again encircled near Vyasma during Operation Typhoon and was soon destroyed.
The 433rd Rifle Division began forming in late 1941 at Ufa in the South Ural Military District as a Bashkiri national division but on December 25 it was redesignated as the 2nd formation of the 214th. In July 1942 it was moved to the area west of Stalingrad and fought in the battle for that city until the beginning of February 1943, eventually assisting in mopping up the factory district. From there it was moved north to form part of the reserves behind the Kursk salient in 53rd Army. During the subsequent summer offensive into Ukraine it reached and crossed the Dniepr near Kremenchuk and was awarded its name as a battle honor. In the winter battles on the west bank it won a further honorific as well as the Order of the Red Banner. During the spring offensives toward Romania it was part of 5th Guards Army in 2nd Ukrainian Front and fought unsuccessfully along the Dniestr River until being moved to the Reserve of the Supreme High Command and joining 52nd Army. Under this command it became part of 1st Ukrainian Front and advanced through southern Poland and Silesia, winning two further decorations in the process. In the final offensive into Germany it saw heavy fighting in Saxony during one of the last desperate German counteroffensives in late April 1945, then advanced with its Front toward Prague. After the German surrender it moved back to Poland and later Ukraine before being disbanded in mid-1946.
1st Formation The division began forming in March 1941 at Voroshilovgrad in the Kharkov Military District. When completed it had the following order of battle: 776th Rifle Regiment 780th Rifle Regiment 788th Rifle Regiment 683rd Artillery Regiment 709th Howitzer Artillery Regiment 20th Antitank Battalion 128th Antiaircraft BattalionCharles C. Sharp, "Red Legions", Soviet Rifle Divisions Formed Before June 1941, Soviet Order of Battle World War II, vol. VIII, Nafziger, 1996, p. 96. This source states the division began forming in May. 302nd Reconnaissance Battalion 403rd Sapper Battalion 603rd Signal Battalion 364th Medical/Sanitation Battalion 703rd Motor Transport Battalion 492nd Field Bakery 911th Divisional Veterinary Hospital 655th Field Postal Station 630th Field Office of the State Bank Maj. Gen. Mark Mikhailovich Butsko was appointed to command on March 22; he had previously commanded the 46th Rifle Division.Commanders of Corps and Divisions lists General Rozanov as the division's first commander but also states that he was not appointed until June 29, the day the division was assigned to the active Army. At the outbreak of the war the 214th was still under direct command of the Kharkov Military District, where it officially remained as of July 1, although it had become part of the active Army on June 29. By July 10 it had joined the 22nd Army in Western Front as a separate division.Combat Composition of the Soviet Army, 1941, pp. 12, 19, 23 General Butsko was severely wounded on July 5 and was replaced in command by Maj. Gen. Anatolii Nikolaevich Rozanov. Butsko never held another field command and retired in 1945. Battles for Nevel and Velikiye Luki When the division arrived in Lt. Gen. F. A. Ershakov's 22nd Army the German Army Group Center had captured Vitebsk but the Army was attempting to hold what remained of the Dvina River line from the Polotsk Fortified Region east toward Haradok. The commander of Western Front, Marshal S. K. Timoshenko, issued orders late on July 12 for Ershakov to carry out a counterattack the following morning with the 214th and 186th Rifle Divisions and supporting artillery from the Haradok area south toward Vitebsk. This plan was stillborn when the LVII Motorized Corps, backed by the L and XXIII Army Corps drove the Army from its defenses along the Dvina northwest of Polotsk, cut it into two parts, enveloped its flanks and threatened both parts with encirclement. With only six divisions to defend a front 274km wide Ershakov was soon in full retreat as the panzers drove northward toward Nevel.David M. Glantz, Barbarossa Derailed, Vol. 1, Helion & Co., Ltd., Solihull, UK, 2010, Kindle ed., chs. 2, 3
Nevel was taken by LVII Motorized on the morning of July 16 which left four of 22nd Army's divisions (50th, 174th, 186th and 214th) cut off and isolated between that town and Vitebsk. As the German commanders debated the size of the encircled forces and exactly how best to deal with them while also carrying out their other objectives, the four divisions did their best to escape in the general direction of Velikiye Luki, aided by the difficult terrain in the region.Glantz, Barbarossa Derailed, Vol. 1, Kindle ed., ch. 3 By July 19 the division had been subordinated to the 29th Rifle Corps of 22nd Army which also contained the 126th and 179th Rifle Divisions.Combat Composition of the Soviet Army, 1941, p. 31 On that date the 19th Panzer Division had captured the city but overnight elements of 22nd Army attacked and overran the thin screen being held around Nevel by 14th Motorized Division, allowing the Army's encircled 62nd Rifle Corps to escape to the east. This pressure also forced 19th Panzer to abandon the city on July 21 and Ershakov triumphantly signalled the commander of 62nd Corps:He later reported that the division was attacking toward the north in the Poreche and Staraya Reka regions. This overlooked victory was the first large city liberated by the Red Army. Ershakov now attempted to create a new defense line along the Lovat River although his 51st Rifle Corps had been reduced to remnants.Glantz, Barbarossa Derailed, Vol. 1, Kindle ed., ch. 6
By July 23 the 214th was situated in the area of Rogatkino and Shchukino. As of July 31 it was operating at roughly half its original strength. In an operational summary by Western Front late on August 3 it was said to be under attack by two German infantry regiments at Lazava with unknown results. As the German forces regrouped to take back Velikiye Luki the division was transferred to 51st Corps and on August 21 was reported as operating in the German rear with two rifle regiments toward Novosokolniki in cooperation with a cavalry division. The German counterstroke was well underway by this point with the 19th and 20th Panzer and 256th and 102nd Infantry Divisions committed. Supply lines to 22nd Army were being disrupted the next day and at 1015 hours on August 24 Ershakov was forced to issue orders for his forces to break out in the direction of Toropets. In the plan for the breakout the 126th Rifle and 48th Tank Divisions were in the first echelon with the 179th and 214th in second, followed by what remained of 62nd Corps and the 170th Rifle Division as rearguard; the operation began at 2200 hours. The artillery and trucks of the 214th were stretched out on the road along its axis of attack and on the morning of the 25th came under heavy air, artillery and mortar attacks, causing considerable losses. The escaping force numbered from 15-20,000 men while another 25,000 of 22nd Army remained behind in small pockets south of Velikiye Luki and either fought to the death or surrendered over the following days.Glantz, Barbarossa Derailed, Vol. 1, Kindle ed., chs. 6, 7, 10, 11 By the end of the month the division was reduced to 2,500 men, with no heavy equipment left at all.Sharp, "Red Legions", p. 96 On August 29 General Rozanov was moved to command of the 253rd Rifle Division; he went on to serve as deputy chief of staff of 11th Army before being fatally wounded in August 1943. Col. Vasilii Dmitrievich Bunin was not appointed to lead the 214th until September 9. Operation Typhoon In a report at 0300 hours on August 30 Marshal Timoshenko reported to Stalin that the remnants of the 214th and 48th Tanks (which had lost all its vehicles) were fighting north of Toropets as a combined unit along a line from Podroshcha to Mankovo. During the period from September 2-4 the 214th lost 148 men killed or wounded as the German forces were largely inactive. Over the following week the reorganising forces of 22nd Army struck back at the German forces advancing on Andreapol, with some limited success; the combined divisions attacked from the line of ZolotilovoSafonovoZaprude and reached Berdovo by 1300 hours.Glantz, Barbarossa Derailed, Vol. 2, Helion & Co., Ltd., Solihull, UK, 2012, pp. 143, 152, 200, 212, 255, 268, 280, 290
Later in the month the 214th was transferred to 16th Army, still in Western Front.Combat Composition of the Soviet Army, 1941, p. 50 It was there when the main part of Operation Typhoon began on October 2 although it was in the process of transferring to the sector of 19th Army. At this time its equipment consisted of 15 heavy machine guns, 96 light machine guns, two antiaircraft guns, eight field artillery pieces, eight mortars, and just 52 percent of its authorized motor vehicles. Given the German threat along the Vyazma axis the STAVKA was bringing in reinforcements from less active sectors. This movement, especially that of the vehicles with which the division was partly re-equipped, was spotted by German aerial reconnaissance near Yartsevo and this was followed by bombing and strafing attacks. During the day the German ground forces made progress in the direction of Bely and Kaniutino Station. On the morning of October 3 the commander of Western Front, Col. Gen. I. S. Konev, prepared to attack this penetration with his own forces from the south and elements of 30th Army from the north. The 214th, along with the 89th and 166th Rifle Divisions, supported by tanks and rocket artillery, was to destroy the grouping that had crossed the Vop River and reestablish the defenses along this line.Lev Lopukhovsky, The Viaz'ma Catastrophe, 1941, ed. & trans. S. Britton, Helion & Co., Ltd., Solihull, UK, 2013, Kindle ed., part 3