383rd Rifle Division (Soviet Union)

The 383rd 'Miners' Rifle Division (383-я 'шахтёрская' стрелковая дивизия) was a formation of the Red Army, created during the Second World War. The division was officially created on 18 August 1941. It was given the name Shakhterskaya (which in Russian literally means 'miners'), as it was originally comprised completely of miners from the Donets Basin, Ukrainian SSR (now Ukraine). During the course of the war, its losses were continually replaced, and thus it began to consist not only of miners from Donbass.

Formation
The formation of the division began in August, at mine #6 in Stalino (now Donetsk). The division included six special anti-tank detachments, created by the city committee of Komsomol in Stalino. Specifically for this division, the production of mines, grenades and other anti-tank weapons in the city was drastically increased. Colonel Konstantin Provalov, graduate of the Frunze Military Academy and Hero of the Soviet Union, was appointed commander of the division. He was later promoted to Major General.

War service
The formation and training of the division ended in September 1941, when it was put into battle. On 30 September 1941, the 383rd division was incorporated into the 18th Army of the Southern Front. The division then took up defensive positions on the "Krasnoarmiisk-Selydove" line. From 15 October until 22 October, the division participated in the defense of Stalino. By that time, they had destroyed 30 tanks, four mortar batteries, two artillery batteries and had killed more than 5,000 German soldiers. By 23 October, the German army had finally taken Stalino, and the 383rd killed another 1,500 German soldiers during its retreat.

Following this defeat, the division was transferred to the Transcaucasian Front, to stop the Germans from penetrating to the oil fields of Azerbaijan. There, the division successfully held defensive positions, refusing to give up ground. In the beginning of 1943 the division fought near Novorossisk. On 7 November 1943 the division crossed the Kerch strait and landed its troops near Kerch, as part of the Kerch-Eltigen Operation. On 1 January 1944, the Division was part of the Separate Coastal Army's 16th Rifle Corps, along with the 89th, 227th, and 339th Rifle Divisions. In April 1944 the division liberated Feodosiya, and later helped liberate Sevastopol. By the end of May 1944 the Transcaucasian Front had completely freed Crimea from German occupation.

In January 1945, the 383rd Division was assigned to the 33rd Army of the 1st Belorussian Front where it served for the rest of the war, advancing through Poland and into Germany. From 16 April to 2 May, the division participated in the Battle of Berlin.