223rd History           

10/22/09

UNIT HISTORY

The history of the 223rd rifle Regiment lies with the 53rd Rifles Division. The division moved up from the Volga Military district to the Gomel area with the 21st Red Army June 1941. When fighting broke out on the Eastern Front, the 53rd fought under the 13th Armies 45th Rifles Corps against the 2nd German Panzer Army. The division was mauled in late July by the 2nd Panzer and moved into the reserves where it was assigned to the newly formed 43rd Army. In the fighting around the Vyazma-Bryansk encirclement battles October 2-3 1941, the division was overrun by the 4th Panzer Group but avoided destruction and retreated with the 43rd Army which covered the southwestern approaches to Moscow during the cities epic battle. The 53rd remained with the 43rd Army until February 1943 where it was assigned to the 33rd Army. The division was again re-assigned and found itself a part of the 1st Shock Army in the battle of Kharkov. Again the division was badly mauled in battle and found itself back in the reserve until September 1943 where it was assigned to the 7th Guards Army in the Steppe Front (later renamed the 2nd Ukrainian Front). The 53rd remained with the 7th Army until March 1945 where it was transferred to the 46th Army and ended the war on the southern Czechoslovakia.

The history of the 223rd Rifle Regiment was typical of a lot of the rifle regiments  in the Red Army during the Great Patriotic War. Knowing that the 53rd Rifles Division where the 223rd Rifles were assigned, remained whole as a unit for the entire war says a lot for the tenacity of the unit in battle. More history of the 223rd Rifle Regiment and the 53rd Rifle Division are still to be found and added to the above excerpt.