8th Guards Rifle Division
Encyclopedia
The 8th Guards Panfilov Division (Russian:8-я гвардейская Панфиловская дивизия; full title: 8th Guards Rezhitskaya Motorized Rifle Division Named after Hero of the Soviet Union Major General Ivan Vasilyevich Panfilov, awarded the Orders of Lenin, the Red Banner and Suvorov) originally the 316th Rifle Division, is a motorized infantry division of the Military of Kyrgyzstan
, originally formed as a Red Army
division during World War II
, it was disestablished in 2003 but re-formed in 2011.
. Major General Ivan Panfilov
, the military commissar
of the Kyrgyz SSR, was appointed its commander. The reservists allotted to the 316th were from mostly from the two republics. It consisted of three infantry regiments: the 1073th, the 1075th and the 1077th.
The 316th soldiers' were sworn in on 1 August, and boarded trains to the front from the 18th to the 20th. They arrived in Borovichi
, near Malaya Vishera
. Intense fighting against the Germans already took place in the region, as part of the campaign to defend Leningrad from the attack of Army Group North. The 316th was involved in several skirmishes, but on 8 September was consigned as the reserve of the 52nd Army. It spent a month in the rear.
's 16th Army, and ordered to defend a 41-km long sector along the Ruza River
, especially the highway passing through Volokolamsk
.
On the 14th, the Germans attacked with superior forces. By the 27th, they advanced some thirty kilometers, pushing the 316th back to Volokolamsk. On the 28th, after a day of fighting, the city was occupied. Panfilov's soldiers retreated closer to Moscow.
The German Army resumed its offensive on 15 November. In the 16th, they engaged the 316th in its new line of defense, near the village of Dubosekovo. Soviet newspapers later reported that twenty-eight soldiers from the division's 1075th Regiment destroyed eighteen enemy tanks while fighting to the last; although the story gained wide publicity, it was later revealed to be exaggerated.
The threat to the 16th Army's flank forced the Stavka
to sent in the reserve 78th Rifle Division
. Although they were forced to retreat after three days, the German advance ceased due to the Soviets' resistance and the harsh weather conditions.
In 17 November, the People's Commissar of Defense
passed a decree to promote the 316th to a Guards formation, in recognition of the role it played in defending the capital; it sustained 9,920 casualties, including 3,620 soldiers killed in action and 6,300 wounded. Marshal Dmitry Yazov
, who researched the division's history, wrote that it considerably delayed the enemy's march on Moscow in its sector; in a telegram from Colonel-General Erich Hoepner
to Field Marshal Fedor von Bock
, the first wrote about the 316th: "it is a division of savages, the soldiers of which fight in violation of all rules of engagement... They are fanatical, never surrender and do not fear death."
In the 18th, a group of journalists traveled to Panfilov's headquarters in the village of Guseniovo, and told him of the news. As he briefed them in the open, they came under a mortar attack. The general was killed by a shell splinter. The decree came into effect on that very day, turning the 316th to the 8th Guards Rifle Division; it also received the Order of the Red Banner
. In was named in honor of Panfilov on 23 November, thus becoming one of the only two Red Army divisions to be named after their commanders, along with the Chapayevska
.
The 8th Guards took part in the December counteroffensive in Moscow, liberating the village of Kryukovo and Istra
.
; for its performance during the operation, it was collectively awarded the Order of Lenin
on 16 March. In late 1942, as part of the Kalinin Front
, it fought in the campaign
near the Lovat River
. In 1944, it took part in the Leningrad–Novgorod Offensive
and later, in the battle of Rēzekne
; for its role in taking the city and the surrounding region, it was awarded the honorary title Rezhitskaya on 27 July 1944. On 3 November, the division received the Order of Suvorov
2nd Class. The 8th Guards ended the war with the 10th Guards Army, as part of the forces besieging Courland
.
According to Soviet official reports, during World War II the division killed and maimed 85,000 enemy troops, captured 5,000 more and destroyed or captured 387 tanks, 65 armored vehicles, 43 planes, 451 guns, 180 mortars, 2010 automobiles and 328 motorcycles. The soldiers of the division were awarded in total twenty-nine Orders of Lenin
, 371 Orders of the Red Banner
, two Orders of Kutuzov
, eight Orders of Suvorov
, fifty-three Orders of Alexander Nevsky
, one Order of Bogdan Khmelnitsky
, 391 Orders of the Patriotic War
1st class, 1783 Orders of the Patriotic War
2nd Class, 4747 Orders of the Red Star
, forty-one Orders of Glory
2nd degree and 2061 Orders of Glory 3rd degree.
Thirty-four soldiers received the highest Soviet military decoration, Hero of the Soviet Union
. The first was Major General Ivan Panfilov
himself, posthumously. Panfilov's Twenty-Eight Guardsmen were also all awarded the title posthumously; when six of them were revealed to be alive, two were stripped. The other wartime Heroes were Piotr Vikhrev, Malik Gabdulin, Ivan Shapshaev and Tulegen Tokhtarov. Baurzhan Momyshuly
received the honor in 1991, three years after his passing away.
, Estonian SSR, until May 1967. Then it was recalled to Frunze, Kyrgyzstan and assigned to the 33rd Corps of the Central Asian Military District
. After the dissolution of the Soviet Union
, it became part of the Military of Kyrgyzstan
, but was disbanded in January 2003.
At 11 July 2011, on the eve of the division's 70th anniversary, the 8th Guards was re-established in a ceremony attended by President Roza Otunbayeva
. It is now garrisoned in Tokmok
and commanded by Colonel Melis Satybaldiev.
, he authored a book, Volokolamsk Highway, about the fighting near the city. After the war, in 1960 and 1961, he completed two sequels, Several Days and General Panfilov's Reserve. The trilogy described the events experiences of Momyshuly as a battalion commander, from the formation of the division in Alma Ata until the Soviet counter-offensive in Moscow.
Volokolamsk Highway - known also as Panfilov's Men - became popular both in the Soviet Union and abroad. Published in Hebrew in 1946, it "held an almost cult status in the Palmach
and later in the Israeli Army" according to media researcher Yuval Shachal, and became a standard tactical handbook in the Israeli Defense Forces. Inspired by the book, Motta Gur once organized a "Panfilov Roll Call" for two soldiers who committed desertion from his company, shaming them in front of the other troops. Volokolamsk Highway enjoyed popularity in Cuba as well. Fidel Castro
told Norberto Fuentes
that "the idea to use the Motherland to exhort people to support me, came to me after reading Panfilov's Men. In Jesús Díaz's famous 1987 novel Las iniciales de la tierra, the protagonist cites Bek's book as a major influence on his life. Volokolamsk Highway served as the setting for an eponymous series of five plays by East German playwright Heiner Müller
, written from 1984 to 1987. The first part, "Russian Opening", was based on Heinrich von Kleist
's The Prince of Homburg
. In Müller's interpretation, the Soviet general defending Volokolamsk assumes the role of the Great Elector. Beside Bek's trilogy, Momyshuly himself authored his accounts on the division's fighting near Moscow.
Military of Kyrgyzstan
The armed forces of Kyrgyzstan, originally formed from former Soviet forces of the Turkestan Military District stationed in the newly independent state, includes the Army/Land Forces, the Air and Air Defence Forces, the Northern and Southern Groups of Forces, Interior Troops, Agency of National...
, originally formed as a Red Army
Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army started out as the Soviet Union's revolutionary communist combat groups during the Russian Civil War of 1918-1922. It grew into the national army of the Soviet Union. By the 1930s the Red Army was among the largest armies in history.The "Red Army" name refers to...
division during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, it was disestablished in 2003 but re-formed in 2011.
Formation
After Germany invaded the Soviet Union on 22 June 1941, reserves were mobilized to be sent to the front. In 12 July 1941, the 316th Rifle Division was established in Alma Ata, the capital of the Kazakh SSRKazakh SSR
The Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic , also known as the Kazakh SSR for short, was one of republics that made up the Soviet Union.At in area, it was the second largest constituent republic in the USSR, after the Russian SFSR. Its capital was Alma-Ata . Today it is the independent state of...
. Major General Ivan Panfilov
Ivan Panfilov
Not to be confused with Major General Alexei Pavlovich Panfilov, who is known for negotiating the creation of the Anders Army.In Allen Paul's book Katyn: Stalin's Massacre and the Triumph of Truth , page 172, it is written that the name of the assistant chief of the General Staff of the Red Army...
, the military commissar
Military commissariat
Military commissariat is a military institution in some European counties.-Russia and former USSR:Military commissariat , abbreviated as voyenkomat is а local military administrative agency in the former Soviet Union as well as in present-day Russia and some other CIS countries that prepares and...
of the Kyrgyz SSR, was appointed its commander. The reservists allotted to the 316th were from mostly from the two republics. It consisted of three infantry regiments: the 1073th, the 1075th and the 1077th.
The 316th soldiers' were sworn in on 1 August, and boarded trains to the front from the 18th to the 20th. They arrived in Borovichi
Borovichi
Borovichi is the second largest town in Novgorod Oblast, Russia. Population: -Geography:The town is located in the northern spurs of the Valdai Hills, east of Veliky Novgorod. It stands upon the Msta River. Just upstream Borovichi there are the famous rapids of Msta popular among...
, near Malaya Vishera
Malaya Vishera
Malaya Vishera is a town and the administrative center of Malovishersky District of Novgorod Oblast, Russia. Population: The town's name originates from the river of the same name which flows into the Vishera River. It was founded in 1843, as the construction of the Moscow-Saint Petersburg Railway...
. Intense fighting against the Germans already took place in the region, as part of the campaign to defend Leningrad from the attack of Army Group North. The 316th was involved in several skirmishes, but on 8 September was consigned as the reserve of the 52nd Army. It spent a month in the rear.
Battle of Moscow
In early October, the Germans begun their offensive on Moscow. In the 7th, Panfilov's division was transferred to the vicinity of the Soviet capital, arriving in the 11th. It was assigned to Konstantin RokossovskyKonstantin Rokossovsky
Konstantin Rokossovskiy was a Polish-origin Soviet career officer who was a Marshal of the Soviet Union, as well as Marshal of Poland and Polish Defence Minister, who was famously known for his service in the Eastern Front, where he received high esteem for his outstanding military skill...
's 16th Army, and ordered to defend a 41-km long sector along the Ruza River
Ruza River
Ruza River is a river in the Moscow Oblast in Russia, left tributary of the Moscow River. The length of the river is 145 km. The area of its basin is 1,990 km². It usually freezes in November and stays under the ice until April....
, especially the highway passing through Volokolamsk
Volokolamsk
Volokolamsk is a town and the administrative center of Volokolamsky District of Moscow Oblast, Russia, located on the Gorodenka River, not far from its confluence with the Lama River, northwest of Moscow. Population: -History:...
.
On the 14th, the Germans attacked with superior forces. By the 27th, they advanced some thirty kilometers, pushing the 316th back to Volokolamsk. On the 28th, after a day of fighting, the city was occupied. Panfilov's soldiers retreated closer to Moscow.
The German Army resumed its offensive on 15 November. In the 16th, they engaged the 316th in its new line of defense, near the village of Dubosekovo. Soviet newspapers later reported that twenty-eight soldiers from the division's 1075th Regiment destroyed eighteen enemy tanks while fighting to the last; although the story gained wide publicity, it was later revealed to be exaggerated.
The threat to the 16th Army's flank forced the Stavka
Stavka
Stavka was the term used to refer to a command element of the armed forces from the time of the Kievan Rus′, more formally during the history of Imperial Russia as administrative staff and General Headquarters during late 19th Century Imperial Russian armed forces and those of the Soviet Union...
to sent in the reserve 78th Rifle Division
78th Rifle Division (Soviet Union)
The 78th Rifle Division was an infantry division of the Red Army, formed in 1932, in Novosibirsk, in the Siberian Military District. After being used to provide cadres for new divisions, in September 1939 the division was reformed for the second time...
. Although they were forced to retreat after three days, the German advance ceased due to the Soviets' resistance and the harsh weather conditions.
In 17 November, the People's Commissar of Defense
Joseph Stalin
Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin was the Premier of the Soviet Union from 6 May 1941 to 5 March 1953. He was among the Bolshevik revolutionaries who brought about the October Revolution and had held the position of first General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union's Central Committee...
passed a decree to promote the 316th to a Guards formation, in recognition of the role it played in defending the capital; it sustained 9,920 casualties, including 3,620 soldiers killed in action and 6,300 wounded. Marshal Dmitry Yazov
Dmitry Yazov
Dmitry Timofeyevich Yazov was the last Marshal of the Soviet Union to be appointed before the collapse of the Soviet Union . He was the only Marshal of the Soviet Union to be born in Siberia....
, who researched the division's history, wrote that it considerably delayed the enemy's march on Moscow in its sector; in a telegram from Colonel-General Erich Hoepner
Erich Hoepner
Erich Hoepner was a German general in World War II. A successful panzer leader, Hoepner was executed after the failed 20 July Plot in 1944.- Life :Hoepner was born in Frankfurt an der Oder, Brandenburg...
to Field Marshal Fedor von Bock
Fedor von Bock
Fedor von Bock was a German Generalfeldmarshall who served in the Wehrmacht during the Second World War. As a leader who lectured his soldiers about the honor of dying for the German Fatherland, he was nicknamed "Der Sterber"...
, the first wrote about the 316th: "it is a division of savages, the soldiers of which fight in violation of all rules of engagement... They are fanatical, never surrender and do not fear death."
In the 18th, a group of journalists traveled to Panfilov's headquarters in the village of Guseniovo, and told him of the news. As he briefed them in the open, they came under a mortar attack. The general was killed by a shell splinter. The decree came into effect on that very day, turning the 316th to the 8th Guards Rifle Division; it also received the Order of the Red Banner
Order of the Red Banner
The Soviet government of Russia established the Order of the Red Banner , a military decoration, on September 16, 1918 during the Russian Civil War...
. In was named in honor of Panfilov on 23 November, thus becoming one of the only two Red Army divisions to be named after their commanders, along with the Chapayevska
25th Rifle Division (Soviet Union)
The 25th Rifle Division 'Chapayevskaya was a Russian, and later Soviet, Red Army formation formed during the Russian Civil War. It was named after its civil war commander, Vasily Chapayev...
.
The 8th Guards took part in the December counteroffensive in Moscow, liberating the village of Kryukovo and Istra
Istra
Istra is a town and the administrative center of Istrinsky District of Moscow Oblast, Russia, located on the Istra River, west of Moscow, on the Moscow–Riga railway...
.
Remainder of war
During late January 1942, the 8th Guards was assigned to the 2nd Rifle Corps of the Northwestern Front' 3rd Shock Army, and participated in the battles near the Demyansk PocketDemyansk Pocket
The Demyansk Pocket was the name given for the encirclement of German troops by the Red Army around Demyansk , south of Leningrad, during World War II on the Eastern Front. The pocket existed mainly from 8 February-21 April 1942. A much smaller pocket was simultaneously surrounded in Kholm, about ...
; for its performance during the operation, it was collectively awarded the Order of Lenin
Order of Lenin
The Order of Lenin , named after the leader of the Russian October Revolution, was the highest decoration bestowed by the Soviet Union...
on 16 March. In late 1942, as part of the Kalinin Front
Kalinin Front
The Kalinin Front was a Front of the Soviet Army during the Second World War. This sense of the term is not identical with the more general usage of military front which indicates a geographic area in wartime, although a Soviet Front may operate within designated boundaries.The Kalinin Front was...
, it fought in the campaign
Battle of Velikiye Luki
The Velikiye Luki offensive operation was executed by the forces of the Red Army's Kalinin Front against the Wehrmacht's 3rd Panzer Army during the Winter Campaign of 1942-1943 with the objective of liberating the Russian city of Velikiye Luki as part of the northern pincer of the Rzhev-Sychevka...
near the Lovat River
Lovat River
The Lovat River is a river in Belarus and Russia. It flows out of Lovatets Lake in northwestern Belarus, and flows north through Pskov and Novgorod Oblasts of Russia into Lake Ilmen. Its main tributaries are the Kunya, Polist, Redya, and Robya Rivers....
. In 1944, it took part in the Leningrad–Novgorod Offensive
Leningrad–Novgorod Offensive
The Leningrad-Novgorod strategic offensive, also known as the Krasnoye Selo–Ropsha Offensive during World War II was launched by the Red Army on with an attack on the German Army Group North by the Soviet 2nd Pribaltiysky, Volkhov and Leningrad army fronts...
and later, in the battle of Rēzekne
Rezekne
In the 19th century, the population of Rēzekne was 2/3 Jewish. As a result of the Pale of Settlement many Jews settled in Latgalia and were confined to the cities. The remainder of the population included Poles, Germans, Russians, and an extreme minority of native Latgalians...
; for its role in taking the city and the surrounding region, it was awarded the honorary title Rezhitskaya on 27 July 1944. On 3 November, the division received the Order of Suvorov
Order of Suvorov
The Order of Suvorov is a Soviet award, named after Aleksandr Suvorov , that was established on July 29, 1942 by a decision of the Presidium of Supreme Soviet of the USSR. This decoration was created to award senior army personnel for exceptional leadership in combat operations...
2nd Class. The 8th Guards ended the war with the 10th Guards Army, as part of the forces besieging Courland
Courland Pocket
The Courland Pocket referred to the Red Army's blockade or encirclement of Axis forces on the Courland peninsula during the closing months of World War II...
.
According to Soviet official reports, during World War II the division killed and maimed 85,000 enemy troops, captured 5,000 more and destroyed or captured 387 tanks, 65 armored vehicles, 43 planes, 451 guns, 180 mortars, 2010 automobiles and 328 motorcycles. The soldiers of the division were awarded in total twenty-nine Orders of Lenin
Order of Lenin
The Order of Lenin , named after the leader of the Russian October Revolution, was the highest decoration bestowed by the Soviet Union...
, 371 Orders of the Red Banner
Order of the Red Banner
The Soviet government of Russia established the Order of the Red Banner , a military decoration, on September 16, 1918 during the Russian Civil War...
, two Orders of Kutuzov
Order of Kutuzov
The Order of Kutuzov is a Soviet and Russian military award, named after famous Russian Field Marshal Mikhail Illarionovich Kutuzov ....
, eight Orders of Suvorov
Order of Suvorov
The Order of Suvorov is a Soviet award, named after Aleksandr Suvorov , that was established on July 29, 1942 by a decision of the Presidium of Supreme Soviet of the USSR. This decoration was created to award senior army personnel for exceptional leadership in combat operations...
, fifty-three Orders of Alexander Nevsky
Order of Alexander Nevsky
The Order of Alexander Nevsky is an order of merit bestowed by the Russian Federation. It is named in honour ofAlexander Nevsky's struggle with the Teutonic Knights....
, one Order of Bogdan Khmelnitsky
Order of Bogdan Khmelnitsky
Order of Bogdan Khmelnitsky may refer to:* Order of Bogdan Khmelnitsky , state military award in the Soviet Union* Order of Bohdan Khmelnytsky , state military award in Ukraine...
, 391 Orders of the Patriotic War
Order of the Patriotic War
The Order of the Patriotic War is a Soviet military decoration that was awarded to all soldiers in the Soviet armed forces, security troops, and to partisans for heroic deeds during the German-Soviet War, known by the former-Soviet Union as the Great Patriotic War.- History :The Order was...
1st class, 1783 Orders of the Patriotic War
Order of the Patriotic War
The Order of the Patriotic War is a Soviet military decoration that was awarded to all soldiers in the Soviet armed forces, security troops, and to partisans for heroic deeds during the German-Soviet War, known by the former-Soviet Union as the Great Patriotic War.- History :The Order was...
2nd Class, 4747 Orders of the Red Star
Order of the Red Star
Established on 6 April 1930, the Order of the Red Star was an order of the Soviet Union, given to Red Army and Soviet Navy personnel for "exceptional service in the cause of the defense of the Soviet Union in both war and peace". It was established by Resolution of the Presidium of the CEC of the...
, forty-one Orders of Glory
Order of Glory
Established on 8 November 1943, the Order of Glory was an Order of the Soviet Union. It was awarded to non-commissioned officers and rank-and-file of the armed forces, as well as junior lieutenants of the air force, for bravery in the face of the enemy.The Order of Glory, which was modelled...
2nd degree and 2061 Orders of Glory 3rd degree.
Thirty-four soldiers received the highest Soviet military decoration, Hero of the Soviet Union
Hero of the Soviet Union
The title Hero of the Soviet Union was the highest distinction in the Soviet Union, awarded personally or collectively for heroic feats in service to the Soviet state and society.-Overview:...
. The first was Major General Ivan Panfilov
Ivan Panfilov
Not to be confused with Major General Alexei Pavlovich Panfilov, who is known for negotiating the creation of the Anders Army.In Allen Paul's book Katyn: Stalin's Massacre and the Triumph of Truth , page 172, it is written that the name of the assistant chief of the General Staff of the Red Army...
himself, posthumously. Panfilov's Twenty-Eight Guardsmen were also all awarded the title posthumously; when six of them were revealed to be alive, two were stripped. The other wartime Heroes were Piotr Vikhrev, Malik Gabdulin, Ivan Shapshaev and Tulegen Tokhtarov. Baurzhan Momyshuly
Baurzhan Momyshuly
Baurzhan Momyshuly was a Kazakh-Soviet military officer, writer and a posthumous Hero of the Soviet Union.- Early life :...
received the honor in 1991, three years after his passing away.
Post-war years
The 8th Guards was stationed in RakvereRakvere
Rakvere is a town in northern Estonia and the county seat of Lääne-Viru County, 20 km south of the Gulf of Finland.-History:The earliest signs of human settlement dating back to the 3rd-5th centuries AD have been found on the present theatre hill. Probably to protect that settlement, a wooden...
, Estonian SSR, until May 1967. Then it was recalled to Frunze, Kyrgyzstan and assigned to the 33rd Corps of the Central Asian Military District
Turkestan Military District
The Turkestan Military District was a military district of both the Imperial Russian Army and the Soviet Armed Forces, with its headquarters at Tashkent. The District was first created during the 1874 Russian military reform when by order of Minister D.A. Milyutinym the territory of Russia was...
. After the dissolution of the Soviet Union
Dissolution of the Soviet Union
The dissolution of the Soviet Union was the disintegration of the federal political structures and central government of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , resulting in the independence of all fifteen republics of the Soviet Union between March 11, 1990 and December 25, 1991...
, it became part of the Military of Kyrgyzstan
Military of Kyrgyzstan
The armed forces of Kyrgyzstan, originally formed from former Soviet forces of the Turkestan Military District stationed in the newly independent state, includes the Army/Land Forces, the Air and Air Defence Forces, the Northern and Southern Groups of Forces, Interior Troops, Agency of National...
, but was disbanded in January 2003.
At 11 July 2011, on the eve of the division's 70th anniversary, the 8th Guards was re-established in a ceremony attended by President Roza Otunbayeva
Roza Otunbayeva
Roza Isakovna Otunbayeva is a Kyrgyz diplomat and politican who served as the President of Kyrgyzstan from 7 April 2010 until 1 December 2011. She was sworn in on July 3, 2010, after acting as interim leader following the 2010 April revolution which led to the ousting of then President Kurmanbek...
. It is now garrisoned in Tokmok
Tokmok
Tokmok ; , Tokmak) is a city of about 53,087 in northern Kyrgyzstan, east of the country's capital of Bishkek. Its geographical location is ; its altitude is 816 m above sea level. From 2004 until 19 April 2006 it served as the administrative seat of Chui Province...
and commanded by Colonel Melis Satybaldiev.
Legacy
During 1943 and 1944, war reporter Alexander Bek escorted the 8th Guards. Drawing from the memories of Major Baurzhan MomyshulyBaurzhan Momyshuly
Baurzhan Momyshuly was a Kazakh-Soviet military officer, writer and a posthumous Hero of the Soviet Union.- Early life :...
, he authored a book, Volokolamsk Highway, about the fighting near the city. After the war, in 1960 and 1961, he completed two sequels, Several Days and General Panfilov's Reserve. The trilogy described the events experiences of Momyshuly as a battalion commander, from the formation of the division in Alma Ata until the Soviet counter-offensive in Moscow.
Volokolamsk Highway - known also as Panfilov's Men - became popular both in the Soviet Union and abroad. Published in Hebrew in 1946, it "held an almost cult status in the Palmach
Palmach
The Palmach was the elite fighting force of the Haganah, the underground army of the Yishuv during the period of the British Mandate of Palestine. The Palmach was established on May 15, 1941...
and later in the Israeli Army" according to media researcher Yuval Shachal, and became a standard tactical handbook in the Israeli Defense Forces. Inspired by the book, Motta Gur once organized a "Panfilov Roll Call" for two soldiers who committed desertion from his company, shaming them in front of the other troops. Volokolamsk Highway enjoyed popularity in Cuba as well. Fidel Castro
Fidel Castro
Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz is a Cuban revolutionary and politician, having held the position of Prime Minister of Cuba from 1959 to 1976, and then President from 1976 to 2008. He also served as the First Secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba from the party's foundation in 1961 until 2011...
told Norberto Fuentes
Norberto Fuentes
Norberto Fuentes is a writer and journalist.He has published Hemingway in Cuba and Ernest Hemingway: Rediscovered, both available in English, as well as Dulces guerreros cubanos, Condenados de Condado , Posición Uno, and El último Santuario...
that "the idea to use the Motherland to exhort people to support me, came to me after reading Panfilov's Men. In Jesús Díaz's famous 1987 novel Las iniciales de la tierra, the protagonist cites Bek's book as a major influence on his life. Volokolamsk Highway served as the setting for an eponymous series of five plays by East German playwright Heiner Müller
Heiner Müller
Heiner Müller was a German dramatist, poet, writer, essayist and theatre director. Described as "the theatre's greatest living poet" since Samuel Beckett, Müller is arguably the most important German dramatist of the 20th century after Bertolt Brecht...
, written from 1984 to 1987. The first part, "Russian Opening", was based on Heinrich von Kleist
Heinrich von Kleist
Bernd Heinrich Wilhelm von Kleist was a poet, dramatist, novelist and short story writer. The Kleist Prize, a prestigious prize for German literature, is named after him.- Life :...
's The Prince of Homburg
The Prince of Homburg (play)
The Prince of Homburg is a play by Heinrich von Kleist written in 1809-10, but not performed until 1821, after the author's death. A performance during his lifetime was not possible because Princess Marianne of Prussia , by birth a member of the Hesse-Homburg family, to whom Kleist had given sight...
. In Müller's interpretation, the Soviet general defending Volokolamsk assumes the role of the Great Elector. Beside Bek's trilogy, Momyshuly himself authored his accounts on the division's fighting near Moscow.
Wartime commanders
- Major General Ivan Panfilov (12.7.1941 - 18.11.1941)
- Major General Vasily Reviakin (20.11.1941 - 18.01.1942)
- Major General Ivan Chistyakov (19.01.1942 - 03.04.1942)
- Coloenl Ivan Serebryakov (04.04.1942 - 18.10.1942)
- Major General Spiridon Chernyugov (19.10.1942 - 12.03.1944 )
- Coloenl Dmitry Dulov (13.03.1944 - 28.05.1944)
- Major General Ernst Sedulin (29.05.1944 - 07.06.1944)
- Major General Andrei Kuleshov (08.06.1944 - 17.08.1944)
- Coloenl Grigory Panishev (18.08.1944 - 07.09.1944)
- Coloenl Grigory Lomov (08.09.1944 - 09.05.1945)
Command staff during the Battle of Moscow
- Commander: Ivan Panfilov.
- Chief of staff: Colonel Ivan Serebryakov.
- Commissar: Senior Battalion Commissar (Lt. Colonel) Sergei Egorov
- Chief of political department: Battalion Commissar (Major) Alexander Galushko;
- Chief of divisional artillery: Major Vitaly Makarov.
- 1073th Infantry Regiment: commanded by Major Grigory Efimovich Elin.
- 1075th Infantry Regiment: commanded by Colonel Ilya Kaprov.
- 1077 Infantry Regiment: commanded by Major Zinovi Shechtmann.
Order of Battle during 1988
- 105th separate reconnaissance battalion(stationed at Bagram during the Afghanistan War).
- 50th Guards tank regiment (Kurday)
- 4th motor-rifle regiment (Rybachiy)
- 23rd Guards motor-rifle regiment (Kurday)
- 282nd Guards motor-rifle regiment (Kaitash)
- 14th Guards artillery regiment (Kurday)
- Anti-aircraft artillery regiment (Kurday)