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The 305th Rifle Division was formed for the first time as a standard Red Army rifle division shortly after the German invasion. It was soon sent north to the Volkhov Front near Novgorod. In the winter of 1942 it participated in an offensive to try to break the Siege of Leningrad which ended with it and most of the rest of the attacking force being cut off and gradually annihilated during the spring. A second 305th was raised a few months later in the southern part of the front, where it distinguished itself in the final liberation of Belgorod. It continued in combat through Ukraine and Poland before ending the war near Prague. == 1st Formation == The 305th Rifle Division began forming on July 2, 1941 at Dmitrov in the Moscow Military District. Its order of battle was as follows: * 1000th Rifle Regiment * 1002nd Rifle Regiment * 1004th Rifle Regiment * 830th Artillery Regiment * 358th Antitank Battalion - added in 1942 * 573rd Sapper Battalion * 726th Signal Battalion * 377th Reconnaissance Company〔Charles C. Sharp, ''"Red Tide", Soviet Rifle Divisions Formed From June to December, 1941, Soviet Order of Battle World War II, Vol. IX'', 1996, p 69, and Russian Wikipedia〕 After several weeks forming up as was typical for the divisions being formed from reservists in this period, the 305th was shipped north in early August to the area around Novgorod, where it came under command of the Novgorod Operations Group.〔David M. Glantz, ''The Battle for Leningrad, 1941 - 1944'', University Press of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, 2002, p 95〕〔Sharp, ''"Red Tide"'', p 70〕 In December the division was reassigned to 52nd Army in Volkhov Front〔Glantz, p 505〕 It took part in the Lyuban Offensive Operation during the winter months of 1942, entering the penetration of the German front across the Volkhov River that was created by 2nd Shock Army in an attempt to drive into the rear of the German forces laying siege to Leningrad.〔Sharp, ''"Red Tide"'', p 70〕 While significant gains were made, the operation depended on maintaining two narrow supply corridors, which forces of German 18th Army succeeded in cutting between Mar. 18 - 20. The 305th Rifle was now trapped in the half-frozen swamps south of Lyuban, and while it made valiant efforts to restore the situation over the coming months,〔Glantz, pp 176-79〕 by June 1 it was reporting to 2nd Shock Army that its strength was down to 860 officers, 753 NCOs and 3,208 men. The division was finally destroyed in late June as the Germans "mopped up" the pocket, and it was officially disbanded on July 7.〔Sharp, ''"Red Tide"'', p 70〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「305th Rifle Division (Soviet Union)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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