[1] While the 32nd Rifle Division was serving in the 25th Army of the Far East Military District, the Germans invaded the Soviet Union in Europe on June 22, 1941.

The German Army Group Center in September paused near Smolensk because Hitler had ordered the capture of Kiev to secure the southern flank.

This allowed the Soviets some time to prepare the defenses west of Moscow, but by the beginning of October the offensive toward the capital began again and was called Operation Typhoon by the Germans.

The 32nd Rifle Division was ordered west and was rapidly transported by train to the Mozhaisk Defense Line, then manned by Dmitri Danilovich Lelyushenko's 5th Army.

By October 10, the forward elements had arrived and dug in on the old Borodino battlefield, where the Russians had bled white Napoleon's Army in 1812.

The best the division could hope for was to delay the German advance long enough to form a new line of defense further east.