The 266th Rifle Division was a rifle division of the Soviet Red Army during World War II. The 266th was formed three times during the war.
It was first formed in July 1941 from an NKVD division and destroyed during the later stages of the Battle of Smolensk in August. It was reformed in December and destroyed in the Second Battle of Kharkov in May 1942. The 266th was formed for a third time in August 1942, and fought in Operation Little Saturn, the Donbass Strategic Offensive, the Second Jassy–Kishinev Offensive, the Vistula–Oder Offensive, and the Battle of Berlin. Postwar, the division briefly remained in Germany before being withdrawn to Stalingrad, where it became a separate rifle brigade. In 1953 it was expanded into the 68th Mechanized Division, and in 1957 it became the 117th Motor Rifle Division. In 1965 it was renumbered the 266th Motor Rifle Division, and a year later transferred to the Soviet Far East. The division was based in Amur Oblast until it was reduced to a storage base in 1989.
History
First formation
The 266th was first formed between 26 June and 2 July 1941 at Kaluga in the Moscow Military District as the 26th NKVD Mountain Division. It had a cadre of 1500 NKVD officers and men, and was to complete its formation as an NKVD unit by 17 July. By 2 July, it was transferred to the Red Army as the 266th Rifle Division, and consisted of the 1006th, 1008th, and 1010th Rifle Regiments, the 832nd Artillery Regiment, 557th Sapper Battalion, 379th Reconnaissance Company, and the 451st Truck Company. In early August, the 266th joined the 21st Army of the Bryansk Front. It attempted to hold the southern flank of the front and counterattack against Heinz Guderian's 2nd Panzer Group and the German 2nd Army south of Smolensk. In late August, the 2nd Panzer Group advanced south across the Desna River, breaking through the 21st Army. At this time the division was part of the army's 66th Rifle Corps and suffered heavy losses. It was disbanded on 30 August, but some of its units continued to fight under the army, and the division was still reporting its status to the army command as late as 14 September.
Second formation
The 467th Rifle Division started forming in the Stalingrad Military District on 14 December 1941. On 22 December the division was redesignated as the 266th Rifle Division at Kuybyshev in the Volga Military District. It included the 1006th, 1008th, and 1010th Rifle Regiments, as well as the 832nd Artillery Regiment, 360th Anti-Tank Battalion, 575th Sapper Battalion, 369th Reconnaissance Company, the 81st Anti-Aircraft Battery, 215th Communications Company, 295th Medical Battalion, and 451st Truck Company. After it was redesignated, the division was moved a short distance west to the Volga River area near Stalingrad. It remained there, forming and training under the Stalingrad Military District, until April 1942, when it was assigned to the Reserve of the Supreme High Command (RVGK). In late April, the 266th joined the Southwestern Front's 6th Army. On 12 May, when the Kharkov offensive in the Second Battle of Kharkov began, the 266th was an assault unit and had the most success in its initial attacks. As a result, it was farther into the pocket when the German counterattack surrounded the army in the Izyum Pocket in late May. The division never made it out and the pocket was mopped up between 26 and 28 May. The 266th was officially disbanded on 30 May. Its former commander, Alexander Tavantsev, was captured and became an officer in the Russian Liberation Army.