17th Tank Division (Soviet Union)

[1] The division suffered heavy losses during fighting against German forces during the Battle of Smolensk and was converted into a tank brigade in late August 1941.

[1] After the German invasion of the Soviet Union, the division moved with the corps to Smolensk.

The division was 60% Ukrainian in early July, and German troops attributed its reportedly poor performance to its ethnic composition.

[5] The division was encircled in the Smolensk Pocket, in which it defended the Dnieper line to the west of the city.

[1] On the night of 31 July to 1 August, the division and the rest of the corps escaped the Smolensk Pocket through the gap in the German encirclement line.