| 162nd Rifle Division (July 16, 1940 – December 27, 1941) 162nd Rifle Division (December 1941 – July 24, 1942) 162nd Rifle Division (November 1942 - July 1945) | |
|---|---|
| Active | 1940–1945 |
| Country |  Soviet Union |
| Branch | .svg){kind=small} Red Army |
| Type | Infantry |
| Size | Division |
| Engagements | Operation Barbarossa Battle of Smolensk (1941) Battle of Moscow Second Battle of Kharkov Operation Fridericus II Case Blue Sevsk-Trubchevsk offensive Oryol offensive Battle of Kursk Operation Kutuzov Gomel-Rechytsa offensive Kalinkavichy offensive Ozarichi-Ptsich offensive Kamenets–Podolsky pocket Lvov-Sandomierz Offensive Vistula–Oder offensive East Pomeranian offensive Battle of Berlin |
| Decorations |  Order of the Red Banner Order of Suvorov (both 3rd Formation) |
| Battle honours | Central Asian Novgorod-Severskii (both 3rd Formation) |
| Commanders | |
| Notable commanders | Col. Nikolai Fyodorovich Kolkunov Col. Mitrofan Ilich Matveev Maj. Gen. Sergei Yakovlevich Senchillo Col. Stepan Ivanovich Chernyak  Col. Lazar Vasilevich Grinvald-Mukho Col. Anatolii Olegovich Muratov |
The 162nd Rifle Division was originally formed as an infantry division of the Red Army in August 1940 in the Kharkov Military District, based on the shtat (table of organization and equipment) of the previous September. At the start of the German invasion in June 1941 it was in Lubny, Poltava Oblast, and was quickly sent to the front as part of Western Front's 19th Army. After first counterattacking in an effort to retake Vitebsk it was forced to fall back toward Smolensk. During August and into September, now as part of 30th Army, it took part in several counteroffensives against German 9th Army in the Dukhovshchina area in an effort to retake Smolensk, but these were ultimately unsuccessful while costing the division considerable strength. At the start of Operation Typhoon in October the 162nd was located at the boundary of the two Soviet armies in well-prepared positions, but was struck with overwhelming numbers of infantry, tanks, and aircraft. With one regiment quickly encircled the remainder were shouldered away to the north and east. Soon pocketed with the remains of two other divisions the 162nd managed to reach Soviet-held territory in the Kalinin region late in the month, but in November was disbanded to supply replacements for other units.
A new 162nd was designated in January 1942 in the Ural Military District based on a 400-series division that had begun forming the previous month. In March it moved to the Reserve of the Supreme High Command where it was assigned to the reformed 28th Army, soon part of Southwestern Front. In mid-May the Army formed part of the Front's northern shock group in the offensive to retake Kharkiv; while the 162nd was initially in second echelon it was soon brought up to the front line and attacked near Vesele on May 18 without any lasting success. Following this offensive the division was transferred to 38th Army and was under this command in late June when the German summer offensive began. Twice encircled over the following weeks it failed to escape across the Don River in any numbers and was disbanded in late July.
The final 162nd began as the Central Asian Rifle Division of the NKVD in November in the Central Asian Military District. It retained the name "Central Asian" as an honorific. Early in the new year it, and five similar divisions, were transferred to the Red Army and formed as the new 70th Army. The Army was soon assigned to Central Front, where it joined the advance toward Oryol in late February and March 1943, but proved ineffective due to low standards of training and leadership. It did not see much combat in the Battle of Kursk, being largely confined to second echelon, but advanced into eastern Ukraine in September as part of 65th Army, where it won a battle honor. In October it entered eastern Belarus and in the November fighting for Rechytsa it was awarded the Order of the Red Banner.