120th Rifle Division (Soviet Union)

The 120th Rifle Division was an infantry division of the Red Army, formed three times. Its first formation became the 6th Guards Rifle Division for its actions in the Yelnya Offensive. Its second formation became the 69th Guards Rifle Division for its actions in the Battle of Stalingrad. The division was reformed a third time in late April 1943. It was disbanded "in place" with the Central Group of Forces in the summer of 1945.
First Formation.
The 120th Rifle Division was formed in July 1940 in the Orel Region from the 35th Reserve Rifle Brigade under the command of Major General Konstantin Petrov, part of the 33rd Rifle Corps. The 120th Rifle Division was composed of the following units:
On 28 June 1941, it was transferred to Bryansk. On 10 July it was concentrated in the Novoselki area west of Bryansk to establish a defensive line, including antitank ditches. The division became part of 24th Army on 15 July and was moved to the area 20 kilometers southeast of Yelnya. It went into combat on 30 July. Between August and September it fought in the Yelnya Offensive. The division helped capture Yelnya on 6 September. On 16 September, it was withdrawn from the front and sent to Stavka reserve in the Bologovsky District. On 26 September, the division became the 6th Guards Rifle Division for its actions at Yelnya.
Second Formation.
The division was reformed in Kazan from the 405th Rifle Division on 10 March 1942. 80% of the soldiers of the division were Kazakhs. The division was commanded by Colonel Nikolai Ryakin. The division included the following units:
In May the 120th was assigned to 8th Reserve Army in the Reserve of the Supreme High Command. In June 1942 the division was moved by river to Saratov, where it received reinforcements. On 24 August, 8th Reserve was re-designated as 66th Army and was rushed to Stalingrad. The division was thrown into a series of costly counterattacks north of the city from 4 September. On 27 September Colonel Kirill Dzhakhua took command. By 20 October, at the outset of Don Front's Fourth Kotluban counteroffensive, the division was noted as being severely under strength, with roughly a battalion's worth of fighting men remaining.
Prior to the start of the Soviet counteroffensive at Stalingrad, the 120th had been transferred to 24th Army, still in the same general area, and rebuilt. On 22 November the division supported the army's shock group with two of its rifle regiments, but the attack made little progress against deeply dug-in German positions. Further efforts on the following three days were equally unsuccessful. However, once the Axis forces had been encircled, the 120th gave distinguished service during Operation Ring, finishing off the trapped German 6th Army. In recognition of this, on 6 February the division was converted into the 69th Guards Rifle Division for its actions.
Third Formation.
The division was reformed on 22 April 1943 from the 11th Rifle Brigade and the 142nd Naval Rifle Brigade on the Leningrad Front, part of the 67th Army, under command of 11th Rifle Brigade commander Colonel Alexei Batluk. The division included the following units:
Between July and early September it was part of the 2nd Shock Army, but then was returned to 67th Army. During the Sixth Sinyavino offensive the 120th provided right flank support to the 30th Guards Rifle Corps, which was finally able to storm and hold the Sinyavino heights on 15 September, although the offensive bogged down and was halted three days later. The division transferred to front reserve later that month. On 13 November the 120th was assigned to 117th Rifle Corps, where it would remain for most of the duration.
In January 1944 it became part of the 59th Army. The division fought in the Leningrad–Novgorod Offensive, during which it participated in the capture of Gatchina (formerly Krasnogvardeysk) on 25 January, penetrating into the northeastern section of the town from the north, just as 108th Rifle Corps was seizing the northwestern sector. After an all-night battle, the town was completely cleared the following morning: On 27 January 1944 it was awarded the honorific "Gatchina". The division received the Order of the Red Banner for helping to liberate Luga on 12 February. In April 1944, the division became part of the 8th Army. In late July and August the division fought in the Battle of Tannenberg Line, part of the Battle of Narva (1944). It was part of the 117th Rifle Corps during the battle. The division attacked the Grenadier Hill from the east on 29 July. The division suffered casualties of 1,808 men killed or wounded during the attack. In August it became part of the 2nd Shock Army again. On 31 August Colonel Matvei Fedotov took command. In September 1944 the division, with its corps, was briefly moved to the Reserve of the Supreme High Command, where it became part of the 21st Army. On 11 December Ivan Govorov became the division's commander. In that same month, 21st Army was assigned to 1st Ukrainian Front, and the 120th would remain in that front and army, in either 55th or 117th Rifle Corps, for the duration. It was disbanded "in place" in the summer of 1945 with the Central Group of Forces.