The 112th Bashkir Cavalry Division is a unit created to participate in the Great Patriotic War on a national and regional basis. It was formed in Ufa in December 1941.
History. Creation
Banner of the Bashkir Cavalry Division
The basis for the creation was the appeal of the government of the Bashkir ASSR to the GKO of the USSR in November 1941 with a request to create 2 cavalry divisions at the expense of republican resources. After receiving the consent on November 17 and 29, 1941, the bureau of the Regional Committee of the CPSU (b) and the Council of People's Commissars of the BASSR issued resolutions defining the procedure for the formation of divisions.
13.3 thousand horses, harnesses, uniforms, fodder, etc. were transferred from the farms of the republic. Recruitment of personnel took place mainly due to replenishment from rural areas of the Bashkir ASSR. A significant number of commanders from Bashkirs and Tatars, with the permission of the Main Directorate of the Formation of the Red Army, were recalled from the front, from other military districts. In December 1941 — January 1942, the permanent regimental commanders arrived: Major T.T. Kusimov (1st Cavalry Regiment), Major G.A. Nafikov (2nd Cavalry Regiment), Major G.D. Makaev (3rd Cavalry Regiment). On December 25, 1941, Colonel M.M.Shaimuratov arrived and assumed the post of head of the division formation, who was recalled from the front from the post of commander of the 1st special cavalry regiment as part of the Guards Cavalry Corps of General L. M. Dovator.
The 112th and 113th cavalry divisions were created on the site of the 74th and 76th cavalry divisions sent to the front in October-November 1941 in the area of the Dema station in Ufa (112th Cavalry Division) and Blagoveshchensk districts (113th Cavalry Division) of the republic.
On March 2, 1942, the commission of the South Ural Military District assessed the preparation of the 112th Cavalry Division as ready to be sent to the front. The preparation of the 113th Cavalry Division had not been completed by that time due to the acute shortage of command staff and material resources in the republic. Therefore, according to the NGO directive, the personnel of the 113th Cavalry Division were transferred to complement other units (to the 112th Cavalry Division, 9th Reserve Cavalry Regiment (Tuimazy), 11th Orenburg Cavalry Division.
On March 6, 1942, an order was issued by the Commander of the South Ural Military District to include the 112th Cavalry Division in the Southern Military District
On March 22, 1942, Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the BASSR R.K.Ibragimov presented the division with the banner of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet and the Council of People's Commissars of the Bashkir ASSR,
Initially, the division consisted of 3,823 people (commanding officers - 304, junior commanders — 431, privates — 3088). By the time the recruitment was completed, Bashkirs accounted for 81.4%, Tatars 14.5%, Russians 3.3%, and other nationalities 0.8%.[1]
On April 11, 1942, by order of the NKRSS 112, the cavalry division was incorporated into the 8th Cavalry Corps of the 3rd Army of the Bryansk Front.
On April 17, 1942, the 112th Bashkir Cavalry Division began sending personnel and horse-drawn trains by train to the station Efremovo of the Moscow-Donbass Railway. A total of 13 trains were dispatched.
On May 1, 1942, the soldiers of the 112th Cavalry Division took the military oath.
The 8th Cavalry Corps also included the 21st Mountain Cavalry Division and the 55th Cavalry Division[2].
The Battle Path
Since July 2, 1942, the 112th Cavalry Division has participated in the fighting of the 3rd Army of the Bryansk Front, in the defensive battles of the Battle of Stalingrad at the turn of the Olym River. During the period from July 2 to July 8, 1942, at the Alyoshka — Malye Borki — Svyatosh line, units of the 112th Cavalry Division destroyed 320 enemy soldiers and officers, 2 ammunition depots, disabled 57 hand and heavy machine guns, 12 guns, 2 tanks, 10 trucks and other enemy military equipment[3].
From July 10 to October 9, 1942, the division fought on the line of defense of Kazinka-the Second Terbuna (Kursk region). On July 10, 1942, during the liberation of the village of Lobanovka, Major G. A. Nafikov, commander of the 294th cavalry regiment, died. On July 31, 1942, an essay "In the Bashkir Division" appeared in the newspaper Krasnaya Zvezda, K. Simonov, who had recently visited the division and published an article about the feat of the fighters in the divisional newspaper.
On October 22, 1942, by a decision of the Supreme High Command, the Southwestern Front was re-established, with the 8th Cavalry Corps (including the 112th Cavalry Division) joining the 5th Tank Army. By November 8, the corps reached the Don River and launched a counteroffensive. On November 21, the division conducted a cavalry attack on two enemy tank divisions (German and Romanian), killing over 1,000 soldiers.[4]
Since December 16, 1942, the 112th Bashkir Cavalry Division participated in the Mid-Don offensive operation of the Southwestern and part of the forces of the Voronezh fronts.
In the second half of December 1942 — early January 1943, as part of the 8th Cavalry Corps, she participated in the battles for the liberation of Chernyshkov station and the towns of Chernyshkovsky and Morozovsk, Donetsk region.
On the night of December 31, the corps divisions, together with the 53rd mechanized brigade, bypassed the enemy's defenses. They took advantage of the darkness to approach Krasny Yar farm, encircled it, and in the morning seized it with a sudden raid. In the vanguard were the cavalrymen of the 112th Division.
The enemy was caught off guard and was unable to offer active resistance. The Krasny Yar farm garrison consisted of the so-called Oberst Stagel group, in which over 100 people were personnel of the aviation unit stationed at the airfield near Chernyshkovsky. Operational documents, powerful radio stations, up to 20 cars and about 100 trucks, three warehouses with food and one with medicines were also seized. On December 31, the enemy, with up to two infantry battalions supported by 15 tanks, launched two consecutive counterattacks on Krasny Yar from Chernyshkovsky. They were repulsed with heavy losses for him.
On the morning of January 5, the 55th and 112th cavalry divisions and other formations of the 5th Tank Army liberated the city of Morozovsk after stubborn battles against enemy machine gunners. In these battles, about 10 ammunition depots, a fuel depot, 60 vehicles, 50 aircraft and several million shells and aerial bombs were captured.
— Sudden impact Sudden impact. history-doc.ru. Date of request: March 10, 2020. Archived on February 24, 2020.
During these battles, the division suffered heavy losses. One consolidated detachment was formed from three regiments. The commander of this detachment was the commander of the 294th regiment, Lieutenant Colonel G. E. Fonderantsev.
In mid-January 1943, the division received a replenishment. The replenishment mainly consisted of units from Central Asia and the 7th Marching Squadron, which arrived from the 9th Reserve cavalry Regiment (Tuimazy).
On January 22, 1943, 33 soldiers from the 112th Bashkir Cavalry Division, under the command of Lieutenant A. Ataev, who was posthumously awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union, stood heroically on the defensive near Belaya Kalitva.[3]
From February 2, 1943, the 8th Cavalry Corps operated as part of the 3rd Guards Army (Commander, Lieutenant General D. D. Lelyushenko).
In February 1943, the division, as part of the 8th Cavalry Corps, made a deep raid behind enemy lines on Voroshilovgrad. On February 23, 1943, when the regiment left the raid between the villages of Petrovskoye and Yulino in the Voroshilovgrad region, the division commander, Major General M. M. Shaimuratov, was killed.
During the raid, the division fought for more than 400 kilometers; it destroyed almost 3,000 enemy soldiers, 56 tanks, 6 aircraft, and 6,000 enemy vehicles. The division's trophies were 5 armories, 8 food depots, 31 aircraft, 20 tanks, 115 vehicles; about 2,000 soldiers and officers were captured. More than a hundred settlements have been liberated from the enemy. For the heroism shown in the fierce battles near Stalingrad, 213 soldiers and division commanders were awarded government awards[5].
During this operation, the 8th Cavalry Corps was renamed the 7th Guards Cavalry Corps, and on February 14, 1943, the division was transformed into the 16th Guards Cavalry Division. The division's regiments also became Guards.
Main article: 16th Guards Cavalry Division
After the death of M. M. Shaimuratov, the division was led by Colonel G. A. Belov.
From April 15, 1943 to August 30, 1943, in the reserve of the Supreme Command Headquarters
From May 13, 1943 to July 12, 1943, the division was reorganized in Pavlovsk, Voronezh Region; it was replenished, including from among the personnel of the 16th and 81st cavalry divisions of the 4th Cavalry Corps.[2]
In the autumn of 1943, the division took part in the Chernigov-Pripyat operation. On September 21, 1943, for distinction in the battles for the liberation of Chernigov, the division was awarded the honorary name "Chernigov".
On September 25, units of the division reach the Dnieper. For their participation in the Battle of the Dnieper, over 1,400 soldiers and division commanders were awarded government awards; 54 people received the title Hero of the Soviet Union, including division commander Major General G. A. Belov, commander of the 58th Guards Cavalry Regiment Colonel T. T. Kusimov, K. Akhmetshin, the first number of the machine-gun crew of the 2nd squadron. 60th Guards Cavalry regiment F. G. Gabdrashitov, T. G. Khalikov and others.
In November 1943, the division participated in the liberation of towns and villages of Belarus during the Gomel-Rechitsa operation.
From January 8 to January 14, 1944, he participated in the Mozyr raid of the 7th Guards Cavalry Corps, participated in the liberation of the cities of Mozyr and Sarny, and was awarded the Order of the Red Banner.
March 1944 — offensive on Vladimir-Volynsky.
From July 18, 1944 to August 2, 1944, the division participated in the liberation of towns and villages of Ukraine, Belarus, and Poland in the Lublin-Brest operation. For the capture of the cities of Kalisz and Lublin, the division was awarded the Order of Suvorov, II degree; the 58th and 62nd Guards Cavalry regiments and the 148th Guards Artillery and Mortar Regiment were awarded the Order of the Red Banner.
From August 1944 to January 9, 1945, he was on the defensive on the eastern bank of the Vistula River. For the capture of the city of Tomaszów Mazowiecki, the 60th Guards Cavalry Regiment was awarded the Order of the Red Banner; the 58th Guards Cavalry Regiment and the 148th Guards Artillery and Mortar Regiment were awarded the name "Tomaszowski."
From February 10, 1945 to April 4, 1945, the division participated in the East Pomeranian operation.
From April 19, 1945 to May 5, 1945, he participated in the Berlin Strategic Operation. She was awarded the Order of Kutuzov II degree.
During the Great Patriotic War, the division traveled over 4,000 km from the Don to the Elbe. She was noted 15 times in the orders of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief as having distinguished herself in battle.
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