Russian Rifle/Guards Divisions in WW2
Greenman
"Scorched Earth" and I have a question about the relative strength, in
terms of manpower, of Russian infantry divisions. Craig refers to the
"10,000 man" 13th Guards Division, which fought so heroically at
Stalingrad against two German divisions and, essentially, saved the
west bank from falling into German hands.
Does anyone know what the average number of soldiers was in a Russian
infantry division?
Also, I have discovered that the German perspective on the Eastern
Front war is far better represented in the current literature than the
Russian. Does anyone have a few book recommendations covering the
Russian perspective? Something on the same line as Guy Sager's
excellent book "The Forgotten Soldier"?
And, is there an English translation of Russia's official history of
the war (The Great Fatherland War?)
Thanks
Cairns
--
Stuart Wilkes
<snip>
> Does anyone know what the average number of soldiers was in a Russian
> infantry division?
Glantz gives the TO&E strength of a Rifle Division in December of '42
as 9,435. That is, when you could find a full-strength Rifle
Division.
> Also, I have discovered that the German perspective on the Eastern
> Front war is far better represented in the current literature than the
> Russian. Does anyone have a few book recommendations covering the
> Russian perspective?
High leaders have dominated the memoir literature. Zhukov,
Vasilevskii, Rokossovskii, Chuikov, Shtemenko, and several other
marchals and generals have memoirs in english. I also recall some
memoirs by lower-ranking armor and
recon soldiers, but their names escape me for the moment.
For histories of the war, John Erickson's "The Road to Stalingrad" and
"The Road to Berlin" broke the ground for their unprecedented,
extensive use of Soviet sources. They have stood the test of time and
the opening of the archives very well. Also, anything you get by
David Glantz, like "When Titans Clashed", or "Stumbling Collossus" is
worth your time and money. Glantz also has a great many books on
specific topics or periods of the war.
Happy reading!
Stuart Wilkes
Stuart Wilkes
--
Mark A. Serafin
> Does anyone know what the average number of soldiers was in a Russian
> infantry division?
4-6,000 for a ballpark guess. 7-8,000 for a Guards Rifle
Division. But there was a lot of variance in strengths throughout the
war and across divisions at any one time.
>
> Also, I have discovered that the German perspective on the Eastern
> Front war is far better represented in the current literature than the
> Russian. Does anyone have a few book recommendations covering the
> Russian perspective? Something on the same line as Guy Sager's
> excellent book "The Forgotten Soldier"?
David Glantz would be a good start. He relies heavily on Soveit
original documents that have only becoem available in the last ten years.
He has easily-available books out about Kursk, the Rzhev offensive that
occurred at the same time as Stalingrad ("ZHukov's Greatest Defeat"), and
the Soviet Kharkov offensive ("Kharkov: Anatomy of a Military Disaster"),
as well as a general history of war ("When Titans Clashed"). The writing
is fairly dense, but wonderfully detailed about the course of operations.
He also publishes all sorts of other things that need to be orderd from
him, I believe. He may have a web site.
I don't know if there is a definitive Soviet "Soldier's Memoirs"
type. Dmitri Loza has a book about his adventures commanding tanks
("Commanding the Red Army's Sherman Tanks") and another that is more of a
bunch of short stories.
If you are heavily into knowing the strenghts and compositions of
Soviet units, a fellow named Charles Sharp publishes a series of books on
the divisions of the Red Army, as well as translations of Soviet manuals.
> And, is there an English translation of Russia's official history of
> the war (The Great Fatherland War?)
I wish I knew.
Mark Serafin
Just because everyone else is wrong doesn't mean I have to be.
--