The 199th Rifle Division was an infantry division of the Red Army, originally formed as part of the prewar buildup of forces, based on the shtat (table of organization and equipment) of September 13, 1939. After being formed in the far east of the USSR just months before the German invasion but was very soon moved to the Kiev Special Military District, where it was soon assigned to the 49th Rifle Corps in the reserves of Southwestern Front. In fighting west of Kyiv it was separated from its Corps and suffered heavy casualties in early July. Later in the month it was subordinated to 26th Army as it retreated toward the Dniepr River, but after crossing south of Kyiv it was reassigned to 38th Army. It remained in this Army for the rest of its existence, retreating past Kharkiv during October and November. During the spring of 1942 it remained on the defense during the offensive near that city, but was forced to retreat in front of the German summer offensive. In early July it was encircled near Chertkovo and destroyed, although it remained on the books until mid-August.
A new 199th was formed in May 1943, based on a pair of rifle brigades, in the Moscow Military District. It was soon assigned to 68th Army in the Reserve of the Supreme High Command, which was then assigned to Western Front. During August and September it fought in Operation Suvorov and won a battle honor for the liberation of Smolensk. Following this victory it advanced westward and took part in the grinding battles of attrition east of Orsha for the remainder of the year. When 68th Army was disbanded in early November the 199th was moved to 5th Army, and then soon to 33rd Army. When these offensives proved futile the 33rd was shifted north and spent the winter and early spring of 1944 in the equally futile efforts to encircle Vitebsk from the southeast. When Western Front was disbanded in April the division was reassigned to 2nd Belorussian Front where it spent some weeks rebuilding before being assigned to 49th Army, where it remained for the duration. In the opening stages of the summer offensive it was involved in the fighting for Mogilev and the crossing of the Dniepr River, for which it was awarded the Order of Suvorov (unusually for a division, this was in the 3rd Degree) and later in the offensive it won the Order of the Red Banner for the liberation of Osovets. After the first phase of the Vistula-Oder Offensive in 1945 the division attacked into East Pomerania toward Gdańsk and two of its rifle regiments were also awarded the Red Banner. During the Berlin Offensive the 199th crossed both branches of the Oder River near Stettin before advancing through northeastern Germany and linking up with British forces. It received further honors after the German surrender, but was soon disbanded.
1st Formation
The division officially formed on April 4, 1941, in the Siberian Military District, but began moving west by rail in accordance with an order dated April 15. Once this was complete it was assigned to the Kiev Special Military District. As of June 22, 1941 it had the following order of battle: 492nd Rifle Regiment 584th Rifle Regiment 617th Rifle Regiment 500th Light Artillery Regiment 465th Howitzer Artillery Regiment (until November 30, 1941) 124th Antitank Battalion 408th Antiaircraft Battery (later 187th Antiaircraft Battalion) 257th Reconnaissance Battalion 335th Sapper Battalion 569th Signal Battalion 2nd Medical/Sanitation Battalion 178th Chemical Defense (Anti-gas) Company 336th Motor Transport Battalion (later 285th) 269th Field Bakery 32nd Divisional Veterinary Hospital 6th Field Artillery Workshop 705th Field Postal Station 591st Field Office of the State Bank Col. Aleksandr Nikolaevich Alekseev was appointed to command the division on the day it began forming. When the German invasion began the division was in the reserves of Southwestern Front (the renamed Kiev District) as part of the 49th Rifle Corps, which also included the 190th and 197th Rifle Divisions. At the time the entire Corps was practising road marches in the area of Pohrebyshche in western Ukraine, but advance detachments of the division were near the border, working with cadets of the Vysokoye NCO Training School. They were attacked by the German 457th and 466th Infantry Regiments of Army Group South's spearhead. Fighting in the fields of grain was hand-to-hand, and so fierce that the German forces had to call in artillery support to make any headway. By June 28 the 199th was shoring up an antitank gun line that 12th and 26th Armies were trying to establish in front of the 1st Panzer Group.