1941 S. I. Kochepasov, Soviet 327th Rifle Division

Combat reminiscences of the 1102nd Regiment
S. I. Kochepasov,
Lieutenant (ret.), former chemical officer, 1102nd Rifle Regiment, 327th Rifle Division

Between September and November 1941, the 327th Rifle Division, comprising the 1098th, 1100th and 1102nd Regiments, was organized at Somovo, near Voronezh. Colonel I. M. Antyufeev was appointed divisional commander, while Lieutenant-Colonel Khazhainov became the commander of the 1102nd Regiment. I served as the regimental chemical officer, as well as the commander of the chemical defense platoon.

At the end of December 1941, the division arrived at the Volkhov front following a 200 mile march in -30 degree weather and entered the ranks of the 2nd Shock Army. Having replaced the exhausted combat units near the town of Selishch, the division took part in the offensive against the German first line of defense on the western bank of the Volkhov on January 7th.The men of the 327th Rifle Division were mostly armed with rifles, as automatics were in short supply. The division was also supplied with heavy and light machine-guns, artillery and mortars. Our arrival on the Volkhov coincided with that of the 13th Cavalry Corps under the command of Major-General N. I. Gusev.

The breakthrough attempt against the enemy's defenses on January 7th was a failure and on January 13th a new offensive was undertaken. After a shattering mortar and artillery barrage, the infantry went on the attack. The Germans, although offering serious resistance, could not resist the onslaught. After two days of bitter fighting with heavy loses, they withdrew 18 kilometers back to their second line of defense – towards the villages of Spasskaya Polist', Mostki and Myasniy Bor. This was the German second line of defense. In every house, embrasures had been made for machine guns, with individual firing points linked together by communication trenches. Artillery and mortar positions were concealed in sheds and barns and covered over with boards. Our division made numerous attacks but failed in the attempt. After 10 days, the 1102nd Regiment was transferred to the village of Mostki, which we captured a day later with the assistance of the 111th Division. Soon after, the 366th Rifle Division took possession of Myasniy Bor. With this, the Chudovo railway and motor road were cleared of enemy control for a distance of 20-25 kilometers along the front.

German bombers and dive-bombers appeared in the sky, restraining the activities of our forces. A word should be mentioned here about deficiencies committed by the command staff in the organization of the 327th Rifle Division. Although anti-aircraft defense platoons had been set up in the 1102nd Regiment – and apparently in other regiments as well – they never received the requisite twin-mounted anti-aircraft machine gun mounts. Thus, anti-aircraft defense was virtually non-existent. Enemy aircraft would bomb our positions with impunity.

Following the capture of Mostki and Myasniy Bor, the division set about to pursuing the enemy through the forests, advancing to the left of the railway line for 15 - 20 kilometers. The main tactical assignment of the 2nd Shock Army involved in the capture of Lyuban, but this plan turned out unsuccessful for a variety of reasons.

If the offensive, which had begun along the Volkhov, had enjoyed success in its subsequent development, then that success must be credited first of all to the self-sacrifice of the Soviet troops. To attack across ice, beset with unfrozen patches, with only rifles in the face of well-fortified enemy positions – this is real bravery. The front-line newspaper of the 2nd Shock Army, Courage, described the success of our division in the offensive operation on its front page with large lettering across its entire width, under the heading: Antyufeev's 327th.

But the further we penetrated into the dispositions of the German forces, the more difficult it became to carry the fight. These difficulties arose from the fact that we had entered the most dense of forests, devoid of any roads, and the securing of all manner of provisions became steadily worse. Matters reached the point, that only five shells were allocated for each gun. The regimental mortars generally had no shells. The commander of the 1102nd Rifle Regiment, Lieutenant-Colonel Khazhainov, severely restricted the use of shells in case of a German attack. Indiscriminate fire from rifles and machine guns was strictly forbidden. Still, despite everything, the regiment continued to fight its way forward and liberate villages and other populated areas from the enemy. At the beginning of March, our division was situated 10 – 15 kilometers south of Lyuban'.

The railway station of Lyuban' was surrounded by a large expanse of forests and swamps known as the Bol'shie Mkhi [the Large Mosses]. There were no populated centers to the north-west of Lyuban' and scouts from our regiment were sent in this direction. I was placed in command of a group of 12 men. Scouting parties were also sent out by the other regiments of the 327th Division. Each group had its own sector to reconnoiter. Over a period of two days, we investigated the terrain and watched the road which ran north-east of the swamp towards the railway line.

Upon returning, none of the groups reported detecting the enemy's presence. The command took the decision to send the 1100th Regiment in the direction of Bol'shie Mkhi, to be followed by the remaining regiments, and to move towards the station of Lyuban'. German reconnaissance aircraft, however, observed the movement of the foremost regiment, while the other regiments were detained in the their deployment. The 1100th Regiment was cut off from the main forces of the division, surrounded by German troops against whom it was unable to offer serious resistance, and almost completely destroyed. The 1098th and 1102nd Regiments arrived late and only an insignificant number of men escaped the encirclement. The offensive strength of the 327th Rifle Division was exhausted and it went over to the defensive.

In March, the 2nd Shock Army suffered a misfortune: the Germans closed the exit route to Myasniy Bor. The army's forces, which had advanced into the depths of the forests for 70 kilometers, found themselves cut off from their supply bases. A week later, a corridor was opened up, but its width was insufficient for the normal supply of provisions and ammunition for the troops.

Spring arrived and the trenches filled up with flood water. It became necessary to start constructing shelters above ground.

Despite all of the difficulties, soldiers in the dozens applied for admission into the Party on the anniversary of Lenin's birth. I submitted my application as well and on April 22nd we were accepted by the regimental party organization as members of the Communist Party. Our excitement did not last long, however: party cards were not issued to us, with the explanation that there was no possibility of making photographs.

With the onset of warm weather, the Germans began making more and more sorties against our positions. One day in May, following a lengthy artillery barrage against our forward positions, we found ourselves attacked by some drunken Germans. The attack brought them no success, only a mountain of corpses. Our losses were minor. The ammunition supplies became exhausted, and there were no means of replacing them.

May 1942 proved fatal for us. Food supplies ran out, and the men grew weaker with every passing day. Near Myasniy Bor, work commenced on the construction of a narrow-gauge railway, on which great hopes were laid. It failed to bring any benefit as the Germans continually severed it in the vicinity of Myasniy Bor. As a result of their attacks at the junction of the 52nd and 59th Armies, the corridor at Myasniy Bor was no more than 500 – 600 meters in width and 4 kilometers in length. Above this narrow strip, German aircraft ruled the skies, destroying everything standing.

In connection with my transfer to the Special Section of the Volkhov Front at the end of May, I passed through along this road and saw the smashed narrow-gauge railway. The subsequent tragic fate of the men of the 2nd Shock Army is well-known, but I was already serving in the Special Section of the Front and did not participate in the final stage of this operation.