The 2nd Rifle Division was a rifle division of the Red Army that served from the Russian Civil War to the Second World War. Originally formed in 1919 from the 1st Ryazansk Rifle Division, the division was twice destroyed and reformed during the war. The division contained two or three rifle regiments.
The 140th Rifle Division was a Red Army rifle division that saw service during the Great Patriotic War. Originally formed during the prewar buildup of the Red Army, the 140th might be regarded as the unluckiest division in the Army, as it, uniquely, had to be completely, or almost completely, re-formed three times between 1941 and 1943, being destroyed in the Uman pocket during Operation Barbarossa, the Vyasma pocket during Operation Typhoon, and on the Caucasian steppes in the face of the German summer offensive of 1942. In spite of this, the fourth formation of the 140th went on to have a very distinguished record in combat, a testament to the resiliency of the Red Army in World War II.
The 249th Rifle Division was the fifth of a group of 10 regular rifle divisions formed from cadres of NKVD border and internal troops as standard Red Army rifle divisions, very shortly after the German invasion, in the Moscow Military District. It was largely based on what would become the shtat of July 29, 1941, with several variations. It was initially assigned to 31st Army, which joined Reserve Front in July. By December it had been moved north to join 4th Shock Army in Northwestern Front. When that Front joined the winter counteroffensive in January 1942 the 249th played a leading role in the encirclement and destruction of a German infantry regiment that had just arrived by rail from France. It went on to help retake the German-held towns of Andreapol and Toropets, capturing significant supplies and deeply outflanking the German 9th Army. Later in the month it was transferred with 4th Shock to Kalinin Front and in early February made an abortive advance on Vitebsk. Despite this failure, on February 16 it was redesignated as the 16th Guards Rifle Division.
The 302nd Rifle Division began service as a specialized Red Army mountain rifle division, which saw service in the disastrous operations in the Crimea in early 1942. It was later converted to serve for the balance of the war as a standard rifle division. The division played a leading role in the 51st Army's breakthrough south of Stalingrad in the opening stages of Operation Uranus, and then in the exploitation following this success; however, it was badly battered and routed in the initial stage of the German Operation Winter Storm. After recovering from this, the division continued to turn in a creditable record of service in the southern sectors of the Soviet-German front for the duration, and was especially recognized for its role in the liberation of the city of Ternopol, for which it received that city's name as an honorific.
The 304th Rifle Division had its roots in the 109th Mechanized Division, which served before the Great Patriotic War as a mixed armor and infantry formation. Soon after the German invasion it was reorganized as a standard rifle division and renumbered as the 304th. It served in the southwestern part of the Soviet-German front for more than a year and a half, fighting under difficult conditions, including the German summer offensive of 1942. The division did not distinguish itself until Operation Uranus in late 1942 and the subsequent Operation Ring, in which it helped defeat the encircled German Sixth Army. In recognition of these successes, even before the German surrender at Stalingrad, it was raised to Guards status as the 67th Guards Rifle Division. A second 304th was raised six months later, based on a pair of rifle brigades, facing the German 17th Army in the Kuban. After helping to liberate this region the division continued in combat through Ukraine and Poland, winning its own distinctions at Zhitomir and an Order of the Red Banner, before ending the war near Prague.
The 312th Rifle Division was a Red Army infantry division formed for the first time on July 10, 1941 in Kazakhstan before being sent to the vicinity of Leningrad, where it fought briefly before being redeployed to the front southwest of Moscow in late October, where it suffered huge losses in the wake of Operation Typhoon, and was disbanded not long after. A new 312th began forming in December in Siberia, and this second formation served again in front of Moscow, in the fighting in the area of Rzhev and Sychevka during 1942 and into 1943. In the latter year, the division distinguished itself in the liberation of Smolensk and received that city's name as an honorific. As the war concluded, the men and women of the 312th gained additional honors, and ended the war fighting near Berlin. The division was disbanded shortly after the end of the conflict.
The 314th Rifle Division was a standard Red Army rifle division formed on July 15, 1941 at Petropavlovsk in northern Kazakhstan, before being sent to the vicinity of Leningrad, in the 7th Separate Army east of Lake Ladoga, facing the Finnish Army in East Karelia for more than a year. In consequence the division saw relatively uneventful service on this mostly quiet front until the autumn of 1942, when it was moved south to face German Army Group North, and took a leading role in Operation Iskra, which finally drove a land corridor through to besieged Leningrad in January 1943; a year later it also served prominently in the offensive that broke the enemy siege for good. During the summer the division played a role in the offensive that drove Finland out of the war. Following this, the 314th spent a few months fighting in the Baltic States, before being reassigned southwards to 1st Ukrainian Front to take the fight into Poland and then into the German heartland in the winter and spring of 1945. It ended the war in Czechoslovakia with a distinguished record of service.
The 315th Rifle Division was a standard Red Army rifle division formed for the first time on February 12, 1942, in the Siberian Military District before being sent to the vicinity of Stalingrad, where it was engaged in the futile efforts to break through to the besieged city from the north near Kotluban. After rebuilding, it was part of the southern thrust of Operation Uranus in November, helping to encircle the German 6th Army and also to hold off its would-be rescuers. During 1943 and early 1944 the division advanced through the southern Donbas and into Ukraine, where it was honored for its role in the liberation of Melitopol, before taking part in the liberation of the Crimea in April and May 1944. The men and women of the 315th ended their war on an anticlimactic note, serving for the last year as part of the garrison of the Crimea. However, the unit, and its successors, continued to serve well into the postwar era.
The 317th Rifle Division was an infantry division of the Red Army. It was formed in July, 1941, in the Transcaucasus Military District, as a standard rifle division. It was designated as an "Azerbaidzhani National" ethnic division, based on Azeri reservists, and may have carried the honorific name "Baku". This first formation distinguished itself during the first liberation of Rostov in November, but was trapped and effectively destroyed in the Izyum Salient in May, 1942. A second division began forming, also in the vicinity of Baku, in the summer of that year and served in the offensives that drove the Axis forces out of the Caucasus. Following this, the division was transferred to Ukraine, eventually making its way into the Balkans and winning an honorific for its role in the siege of Budapest. In the final weeks of the war against Germany, the 317th was alerted for a major transfer to the Far East, where it was present for the Soviet invasion of Manchuria in August, 1945, although it seems to have seen little if any combat in that brief campaign.
The 364th Rifle Division was an infantry division of the Red Army during World War II.
The 384th Rifle Division was raised in 1941 as an infantry division of the Red Army, and served twice during the Great Patriotic War in that role. It was first formed on August 10 in the Siberian Military District. It joined the fighting front in February, 1942 with the 11th Army in the fighting north of the German force that was encircled at Demyansk. The division continued to take part in several savage battles in this area into the summer and autumn of that year, gradually being worn down in this attritional struggle on a secondary front until it was disbanded in December to provide replacements for other units. In the buildup to the Soviet invasion of Manchuria a new 384th was formed in the Far Eastern Front in late 1944. The new division fought with enough distinction that it was awarded the Order of the Red Banner, and continued to serve briefly into the postwar period.
The 388th Rifle Division was raised in 1941 as an infantry division of the Red Army, and served twice during World War II in that role. The division followed a very similar combat path to that of the 386th Rifle Division in both of its formations. It was first formed on August 19, in the Transcaucasus Military District. From December 7 to 13, it was shipped from the Black Sea ports to Sevastopol, which was under siege by the German 11th Army.
The 391st Rifle Division was raised in 1941 as an infantry division of the Red Army, and fought the German Operation Barbarossa. It began forming in August 1941, in the Central Asian Military District. It was first assigned to Southwestern Front but on its arrival it was seen to be far from combat-ready and so was moved north to the Moscow area for further training. It was finally assigned to the 3rd Shock Army in Kalinin Front and took part in the battle for the Kholm Pocket. Following this the division was moved to 1st Shock Army and took part in the dismal fighting for the Demyansk salient until it was finally evacuated by the German forces in March, 1943. The division moved on into the gradual advance across the Baltic states through 1943 and 1944, winning a battle honor along the way, until February, 1945, when it was transferred with its 93rd Rifle Corps to 1st Ukrainian Front as part of 59th Army. In the last weeks of the war the 391st was awarded the Order of the Red Banner for its service in Upper Silesia, and ended the war advancing on Prague, but despite its distinguished record it was selected as one of the many divisions to be disbanded during the summer of 1945.
The 396th Rifle Division was created in 1941 as an infantry division of the Red Army and was activated twice during the Great Patriotic War. The division followed a very similar combat path to that of the 398th Rifle Division in its 1st formation. It was first formed in August in the Transcaucasus Military District. In January 1942 it was moved to the Crimea where it joined first the 47th and then the 44th Armies in Crimean Front. On 8 May it came under attack by the German 11th Army as part of Operation Trappenjagd and by the end of the month it was destroyed in the Kerch peninsula, being officially disbanded on 14 June. In the buildup to the Soviet invasion of Manchuria a new 396th was formed in the Far Eastern Front in early 1945. The new division was one of only three formed in 1945 and served with the 2nd Red Banner Army, crossing the Amur River on 11 August and helping to reduce a Japanese fortified zone while also marching towards central Manchuria. Its rifle regiments were all decorated for their achievements and the division was disbanded before the end of the year.
The 397th Rifle Division was an infantry division of the Red Army, active twice during 1941-45, fighting the German Operation Barbarossa.
The 414th Rifle Division was twice formed as an infantry division of the Red Army; very briefly in the winter of 1941/42, then from the spring of 1942 until after May 1945. It was officially considered a Georgian National division, having nearly all its personnel of that nationality in its second formation. After its second formation it remained in service in the Caucasus near the borders of Turkey and Iran in the 44th Army until the summer of 1942, when it was redeployed to help counter the German drive toward Grozny. As German Army Group A retreated from the Caucasus in January 1943 the division was reassigned to the 37th Army in North Caucasus Front, and during the fighting in the Taman Peninsula during the summer it served in both the 58th and 18th Armies, earning a battle honor in the process. It entered the Crimea during the Kerch–Eltigen Operation in November, and was awarded the Order of the Red Banner following the offensive that liberated that region in April and May 1944, fighting in the 11th Guards Rifle Corps of the Separate Coastal Army. After the Crimea was cleared the Coastal Army remained as a garrison and the 414th stayed there for the duration of the war. Postwar, it was relocated to Tbilisi, being renumbered as the 74th Rifle Division in 1955 and disbanded the following year.
The 417th Rifle Division was formed as an infantry division of the Red Army in the spring of 1942 and served in that role until after the end of the Great Patriotic War. Although it was formed in the Transcaucasus, unlike the 414th and 416th Rifle Divisions formed in about the same place at the same time it was never designated as a National division. After its formation it remained in service in the Caucasus under direct command of the Transcaucasus Front until the summer of 1942, when it was redeployed first to the Northern Group of Forces in that Front and then to the 9th Army. As German Army Group A retreated from the Caucasus in January, 1943 the division was reassigned to the 58th Army and a few months later to 37th Army in North Caucasus Front. In July it redeployed northward to join Southern Front, where it was assigned to the 63rd Rifle Corps in 44th Army in mid-September as the Front fought through south Ukraine, eventually reaching the land routes to the Crimea. It took part in the offensive that liberated that region in April and May, 1944, fighting in the 51st Army and winning both a battle honor and the Order of the Red Banner in the process. After the Crimea was cleared the 51st Army was moved far to the north, joining 1st Baltic Front. During operations in the Baltic states the 417th was further distinguished with the award of the Order of Suvorov. In March, 1945 it joined the Courland Group of Forces on the Baltic coast containing the German forces encircled in northwest Latvia. It ended the war there and was soon moved to the Ural Military District before being downsized to a rifle brigade. This brigade was briefly brought back to divisional strength during the Cold War.
The 176th Rifle Division was an infantry division of the Red Army, originally formed as part of the prewar buildup of forces, based on the shtat of September 13, 1939. The division completed its formation at Kryvyi Rih in the Odessa Military District and at the time of the German invasion of the Soviet Union was in the same area, assigned to the 35th Rifle Corps. Being relatively far from the frontier it escaped the early disasters and retreated mostly in good order through southern Ukraine into the autumn as part of 9th Army. It then took part in the counteroffensive against the overextended German Army Group South that liberated Rostov-na-Donu for the first time in December. When Army Group A began its summer offensive in 1942 the 176th fell back into the Caucasus region, losing much of its strength in the process, but finally helping to take up a firm defense along the Terek River and finally in front of Ordzhonikidze. As a result of this fighting the division, along with its artillery regiment, were awarded the Order of the Red Banner. After the German 6th Army was surrounded at Stalingrad the 176th advanced into the western Caucasus and entered the so-called Malaya Zemlya bridgehead south of Novorossiysk in the spring of 1943 where it helped to defeat the German Operation Neptun in April and in the autumn took part in the liberation of the city, for which it was redesignated as the 129th Guards Rifle Division.
The 224th Rifle Division was an infantry division of the Red Army, originally formed as one of the first reserve rifle divisions following the German invasion of the USSR. A large part of this first formation took part in amphibious landings near Kerch in late December 1941 but it was encircled and destroyed during the Battle of the Kerch Peninsula in May 1942.
The 227th Rifle Division was an infantry division of the Red Army, originally formed in the months just before the start of the German invasion, based on the shtat of September 13, 1939. It arrived at the front in July and was assigned to 26th Army along the Dniepr, but was fortunate to escape that Army's encirclement in September. During the next several months, the division fought as part of 40th Army in the Kursk region, operating toward Prokhorovka and Oboyan during the winter counteroffensive. It made noteworthy gains during the May 1942 offensive north of Kharkiv but these went for naught when the southern wing of the offensive collapsed. When the main German summer offensive began in late June, the division's 21st Army was directly in the path of the German 6th Army and the depleted 227th was soon destroyed on the open steppes.
Soviet Union 
Red Army 
Order of the Red Banner (3rd formation)