Soviet 89th "Tamanyan" Rifle Division
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| 89th Rifle Division | |
|---|---|
 Soviet sergeant Hunan Avetisyan, pictured above, was one of several members of the Tamanyan division that received the commendation of Hero of the Soviet Union. Avetisyan was killed in fighting in Novorossiysk in September 1943. |
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| Active | December 1941-1945 |
| Country | Soviet Union |
| Branch | Infantry |
| Type | Rifle Division |
| Role | Tactical attack and defense combat operations |
| Battles/wars | Battle of the Caucasus Battle of the Crimea (1944) Battle of the Baltic (1944) Vistula-Oder Offensive Battle of Berlin |
| Decorations | Level II Order of Kutuzov, Order of the Red Banner, Order of the Red Star |
| Battle honours | Taman |
The 89th Tamanyan Division (Armenian: 89-րդ Թամանյան դիվիզիա) was a distinguished infantry fighting unit in the Soviet Red Army during the Second World War. The division was composed primarily of ethnic Armenians and fought in numerous battles during the war. It gained fame for participating in the battle for Berlin in April 1945, occupying the Berlin suburb of Rosenthal at war's end. A small contingent of the division arrived at the river Elbe after the war in a famous meeting between Red Army soldiers and the United States army forces from the west.
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[edit] Division Formation
The division was formed in December 1941 in the capital of the Armenian SSR, Yerevan on the outset of the German invasion of the Soviet Union. The company commander was S. Zakyan and his subordinates were A. Vasilyan and major-general Nver Safaryan.[1] It published a weekly newspaper in Armenian called the Red Soldier (Կարմիր Զինվոր). In October 1942, the division finally set out to fight against Nazi Germany's fascist forces; recapturing the city of Grozny and the outlying areas.
[edit] Early Fighting
It met fierce fighting at the Russian cities of Eleqotov, Malgobek and Voznesenskaya; effectively halting the advances made by the German Wehrmacht and its ambitions to capture the oil fields of the Caucasus. On January 21, 1943 they moved past Malgobek and Khamedan and advanced 30-40 kilometers towards the Azov Sea. On February 9, Vasilyan was killed while fighting in the city of Novojereelka. In September 1943, the division moved to the southern front and reached the Taman Peninsula in the Ukraine.
On September 6 the division attacked the German-held Russian city of Novorossiysk on the Black Sea and during the fighting, senior sergeants Hunan Avetisyan and S. Arakelyan both earned the rank of Hero of the Soviet Union. Avetisyan was awarded posthumously after he threw himself on the firing path of a German pillbox, killing him but allowing his squad to take advantage to outflank the nest which had been delaying their advance; a feat similar to Alexander Matrosov.[2]
On October 3, 1943 the division captured Taman and was bestowed the title "Tamanyan". The 89th was soon sent to Baksi and Hajimoushka, on November 21, holding both cities from German advance for over five months; on April 24, 1944 the division was awarded the Order of the Red Star for its efforts. In May 1944, the division attacked and captured the naval port of Sevastopol and was subsequently awarded the Order of the Red Banner and honored by the city of Sevastopol itself. Senior lieutenants S. Bagdasaryan and L. Khachaturyan, and senior sergeants A. Haroutyunyan and M. H. Mkhirtichyan were awarded with the ranks of Hero.[3]
[edit] The Byelorussian Front
In October-September of 1944, the division was transferred to the 1st Baltic Front under the command of the Soviet marshal Ivan Bagramyan, entering Poland in January 12, 1945. As the division raced towards Berlin on its trek towards the German capital, the unit was recorded to have liberated a total of 900 cities, towns, and villages in Poland and Czechoslovakia. It finally entered eastern Germany in April, capturing the bordertown city of Frankfurt (Oder) near Brandenburg, about 70 kilometers east of Berlin.
[edit] The march towards Berlin
As the division neared the capital, commanders in the Red Army initially denied the unit from participating in the capture of the city. Protestations made by Tamanyan commanders, however, argued that since they had sustained such heavy losses and traveled such long distances, they deserved to participate in the war's final and most climatic battle. Red Army commanders relented and on April 16, the division entered Berlin and fought in a month long battle to capture the city. Along with the elements of the Red Army's 3rd Infantry Guards, the division captured Veedenk, Raneezen-Ost, and seven other districts. It also captured a defensive position held by the Germans at Humboldt-Hayn park and was also one of the first units to fight and enter the German Reichstag.
For its achievements in Berlin, the Tamanyan division was embraced with a Level II Order of Kutuzov and one of its commanders, Colonel Major H. Babayan was recognized as a Hero of the Soviet Union. In a final count, the Tamanyan division advanced a total of 3,700 kilometers since its original efforts in the Caucasus with 7,333 of its members receiving commendations, 9 being decorated with the rank of Hero of the Soviet Union.[4]
It appears to have been demobilised in the Tbilisi Military District shortly after the war finished.
[edit] References
- ^ Walker, Christopher J. Armenia. The Survival of a Nation. London: Palgrave Macmillan, 1990. p. 356
- ^ Hambartsumyan, Victor et. al. Armenian Military Divisions in the Great Patriotic War. Soviet Armenian Encyclopedia. 1980, Yerevan, Armenia Soviet Socialist Republic. p. 175
- ^ Ibid., 175
- ^ Ibid., 175
