First Formation The 295th began forming on 10 July 1941 at
Chuguyev in the
Kharkov Military District, just east of
Kharkov. Its key units included the 1038th, 1040th, and the 1042nd Rifle Regiments, the 819th Artillery Regiment, the 563rd Sapper Battalion, and the 352nd Reconnaissance Company. In early August, the division was moved west to the
Southwestern Front and assigned to the
37th Army. By 24 August it was defending the city of
Kiev itself. On 7 September the 295th was relocated north and became part of the
5th Army, which had retreated across the
Pripyat River and the
Dnieper to cover the northern flank of the Soviet troops at Kiev. The 1042nd Regiment was detached to the
40th Army and as a result was not trapped in the Kiev pocket with the rest of the division, and survived as a separate regiment. The main forces of the 295th were destroyed in the Kiev pocket in late September, and it was officially disbanded on 30 September.
Second Formation The division began reforming on 1 October 1941 in the
Kursk area, part of the Southwestern Front, with the same basic order of battle as the first formation. It was immediately assigned to the
21st Army, but by mid-November was part of the
Southern Front's newly reformed 37th Army. In June 1942, the division and its army retreated into the Caucasus in the face of the German offensive,
Case Blue, and became part of the
North Caucasian Front. From August, the division and 37th Army defended positions along the
Terek River and in the
Mozdok area as part of the North Group of the
Transcaucasian Front. After the beginning of the German retreat from the Caucasus in late 1942, the 37th Army pursued, and the 295th participated in the recapture of
Armavir on 24 January 1943. Between June and August, the division was part of the
58th Army of the North Caucasus Front. In September it was transferred to the Southern Front's
2nd Guards Army. The Southern Front became
4th Ukrainian Front on 20 October. While serving with the 2nd Guards Army, the 295th was awarded the
Order of the Red Banner and the honorific "Kherson" for recapturing
Kherson. The division gained the placename-honorific "Kherson" by
Prikaz of the VGK No. 67 of 23 March 1944. In March 1944, the 295th was transferred to the
3rd Ukrainian Front's
5th Shock Army, with which it remained for the remainder of the war. The division fought in the
Second Jassy–Kishinev Offensive in the summer of 1944 and after its end in September the 5th Shock Army was relocated north to become part of the
1st Belorussian Front. From October to the end of the war the 295th was part of the
32nd Rifle Corps in the army. By February 1945, its anti-tank unit was the 65th SU Battalion, which had 12
SU-76 self-propelled guns. Postwar, the 295th was initially part of the
Group of Soviet Forces in Germany with the 32nd Rifle Corps in the summer of 1945. However, it was soon relocated to
Stavropol in the
North Caucasus Military District with the
23rd Rifle Corps, where it became the 30th Separate Rifle Brigade in 1946. In October 1953, the brigade was upgraded into the 295th Rifle Division. In 1955 it was renumbered the
49th Rifle Division. == References ==