67th Anti-Aircraft Artillery Division (Soviet Union)

The 67th Anti-Aircraft Artillery Division (Russian: 67-я зенитно-артиллерийская дивизия) was an anti-aircraft artillery division of the Soviet Union's Red Army during World War II. Formed in September 1943, the division fought in the Baltic Offensive, the East Prussian Offensive, and the Samland Offensive. It was disbanded after the end of the war.

67th Anti-Aircraft Artillery Division
ActiveSeptember 1943–1940s
CountrySoviet Union
BranchRed Army
TypeAnti-Aircraft Artillery
EngagementsWorld War II
Battle honoursKoenigsberg
Commanders
Notable
commanders		Habibullah Huseynov

History
AA guns in Moscow

The division was formed in September 1943 in the Moscow Military District, commanded by Azerbaijani Colonel Habibullah Huseynov from 1 October.[1] For the next several months, the division defended the Moscow Industrial Region while conducting training. The division included the 1982nd, 1986th, 1990th, and the 1994th Anti-Aircraft Artillery Regiments.[2] From July 1944 the division fought on the 1st Baltic Front, and was directly subordinated to it.[3] The division was involved in combat from 31 July.[4] On 1 September it was attached to the 43rd Army.[5] The division fought in the Baltic Offensive's Riga Offensive and Battle of Memel, during which it was reported by superiors to have shot down 59 German aircraft. The division then fought in the Courland Pocket.[6]

On 1 January 1945, it was still part of the 43rd Army.[7] During the East Prussian Offensive between January and April 1945, the division provided anti-aircraft cover for military units. The division fought in the Battle of Königsberg and for its actions was awarded the honorific "Koenigsberg" after the city's capture on 9 April.[8] On 1 February, the division was attached to the 6th Guards Army.[9] On 1 March 1945 the division was directly subordinated to the Samland Group of Forces.[10] The division became part of the 39th Army on or before 1 April.[11] During the Samland Offensive in April, the division advanced its guns to provide fire support to the infantry of the army. Huseynov directed their fire from the forward area. On 16 April Huseynov was killed in action north of Fischhausen. He would later be awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union.[6]

On 17 April, Colonel Konstantin Kunikov took command of the division, leading it until after the end of the war.[1] Before 1 May, the 39th Army was sent into the reserve and the 67th stayed with the 3rd Belorussian Front.[12] The division fought until the end of the war on 9 May.[4] Kunikov led the division until September, when he transferred to command the 12th Anti-Aircraft Artillery Division.[13] The division was disbanded within several years of the end of the war.[14]

Commanders

The following officers commanded the division during World War II:[1]

  • Colonel Habibullah Huseynov (1 October 1943–killed in action 16 April 1945)
  • Colonel Konstantin Kunikov (17 April 1945–after 9 May 1945)

References

Citations
  1. Main Personnel Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of the Soviet Union 1964, p. 392.
  2. Combat composition of the Soviet Army, 1 November 1943
  3. Combat composition of the Soviet Army, 1 July 1944
  4. Perechen No. 6 Part III
  5. Combat composition of the Soviet Army, 1 September 1944
  6. "Habibullah Huseynov". Герои страны ("Heroes of the Country") (in Russian).
  7. Combat composition of the Soviet Army, 1 January 1945
  8. Освобождение городов [Liberation of the city] (in Russian). Moscow: Voenizdat. 1985. Source appears to lack page numbers.
  9. Combat composition of the Soviet Army, 1 February 1945
  10. Combat composition of the Soviet Army, 1 March 1945
  11. Combat composition of the Soviet Army, 1 April 1945
  12. Combat composition of the Soviet Army, 1 May 1945
  13. Tsapayev, Vvedensky & Hayrapetyan 2014, p. 177.
  14. Feskov et al 2013, p. 288.

Bibliography
  • Feskov, V.I.; Golikov, V.I.; Kalashnikov, K.A.; Slugin, S.A. (2013). Вооруженные силы СССР после Второй Мировой войны: от Красной Армии к Советской [The Armed Forces of the USSR after World War II: From the Red Army to the Soviet: Part 1 Land Forces] (in Russian). Tomsk: Scientific and Technical Literature Publishing. ISBN 9785895035306.
  • Main Personnel Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of the Soviet Union (1964). Командование корпусного и дивизионного звена советских вооруженных сил периода Великой Отечественной войны 1941 – 1945 гг [Commanders of Corps and Divisions in the Great Patriotic War, 1941–1945] (in Russian). Moscow: Frunze Military Academy.
  • Tsapayev, D.A.; et al. (2014). Goremykin, Viktor (ed.). Великая Отечественная: Комдивы. Военный биографический словарь [The Great Patriotic War: Division Commanders. Military Biographical Dictionary] (in Russian). Vol. 2. Moscow: Kuchkovo Pole. ISBN 978-5-9950-0341-0.
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