| 117th Rifle Division | |
|---|---|
| Active | 1939 – 1946 |
| Allegiance |  Soviet Union |
| Branch | Red Army |
| Type | Infantry |
| Size | 12,000 |
| Part of | Volga Military District |
The Soviet 117th Rifle Division was a rifle division that served during the Second World War. Originally formed in 1939 destroyed and reformed during the war.
Formed on 23 August 1939 in the Volga Military District, under the command of Colonel Spiridon Chernyugov. On 22 June 1941 the division was still located in the district. The division was assigned to the 21st Army moving from the Volga Military District to Gomel in the Western Special Military District when the war started. The army was to attack north from Gomel area into the flank and rear of the German advance. On 5–6 July 1941 the division attacked across the Dnepr River at Zhlobin as part of the 63rd Rifle Corps and 21st Army. Of the 12,000 men assigned to the division and despite the support of the 546th Corps Artillery Regiment the division lost almost 20% of its strength in the space of two days. By 12 July the division was retreating back behind the Dnepr River. By early September when the German 2nd Panzer Group struck south the division, along with most of the Central and Southwestern Fronts in the Kiev Pocket and annihilated. The division headquarters was disbanded on 20 September 1941. [1]
The second formation was formed on 7 January by redesignating the 308th Rifle Division at Ivanovo in the Moscow Military District. In late February the division left the Moscow Military District and moved to the Kalinin Front reserves. In March the Front assigned the division to the 3rd Shock Army and it remained in that army until February 1943. In February the division went back into Kalinin Front reserves as part of the 2nd Guards Rifle Corps and as part of this corps was assigned to the 22nd Army. In April 1943 the 22nd Army was transferred from the Kalinin to the Northwestern Front. In September 1943 the division was moved to the 4th Shock Army, which became part of the 1st Baltic Front after 20 October 1943. In February 1944 the division briefly served in the 1st Baltic Front's 43rd Army and then went into STAVKA reserves and moved south. In late April 1944 the division was assigned to the 91st Rifle Corps in the 69th Army of the 1st Belorussian Front. The division spent the rest of war under this command structure. [2]
The 193rd Tank Division was originally a Red Army infantry division that was reorganised after World War II as a mechanised and then a tank division of the Soviet Army.
The 120th Guards Mechanised Brigade is a mechanised infantry brigade of the Belarus Ground Forces. It is the heir to the traditions of the Red Army 120th Guards Rifle Division which became the 120th Guards Motor Rifle Division in 1957.
The 308th Rifle Division was a rifle division of the Soviet Red Army during World War II. The division was formed three separate times during the course of the war.
The 266th Rifle Division was a rifle division of the Soviet Red Army during World War II. The 266th was formed three times during the war.
The 18th Rifle Division was an infantry division of the Soviet Union's Red Army during the Russian Civil War, Polish–Soviet War, Winter War and World War II. The division was formed a total of five times during this period.
The 161st Stanislawska Red Banner Order of Bogdan Khmelnitsky Mechanised Brigade was a brigade of the Ukrainian Ground Forces, which traced its history to the creation of the 161st Rifle Division of the Red Army in 1940.
The 31st Army was a field army of the Red Army during the Second World War.
The 42nd Rifle Division was a unit of the Red Army during the Great Patriotic War. The division, first formed in 1940, was nearly destroyed in the opening days of the Operation Barbarossa defending the Brest Fortress. Disbanded in late December 1941 and immediately reformed in the Volga Military District. The division then served on the front until disbanded at the end of the war.
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 220th Rifle Division was briefly a Red Army motorized infantry division that was re-organised shortly after the German invasion as a standard rifle division. The division distinguished itself in at least three battles. It was partly credited with the liberation of the cities of Orsha and Minsk in the first stages of the Destruction of Army Group Center. Shortly after it also shared credit for the liberation of the city of Grodno.
The 119th Rifle Division was an infantry division of the Red Army, formed three times.
The 249th Rifle Division was raised in 1941, within days of the German invasion, as a standard Red Army rifle division, and served for the duration of the Great Patriotic War in that role. The division was formed twice, first from a cadre of NKVD soldiers that went on to become the 16th Guards Rifle Division after distinguishing themselves in the fighting for Toropets during the Soviet counteroffensive in the winter of 1941-42. The second formation was largely made up of ethnic Estonians and was known as the 249th Estonian Rifle Division. It fought under that name for the duration, and shortly after the German surrender became the 122nd Guards Rifle Division.
The 250th Rifle Division was formed from a cadre of NKVD border troops as a standard Red Army rifle division, very shortly after the German invasion, in the Moscow Military District. It was one of a series of similar NKVD-based divisions formed at that time. It served in the heavy fighting around Smolensk in July, then later in the defensive operations around Kalinin. During the Soviet winter counteroffensive it was part of the forces of Kalinin Front that drove the German forces away from Toropets. In the initial phase of Operation Bagration the division was given special recognition for its role in the liberation of the Belorussian city of Bobruisk. The 250th had a distinguished career as a combat unit, ending its combat path in Berlin.
The 325th Rifle Division was formed in September 1941, as a standard Red Army rifle division, made up of older reservists and young men with no prewar training. As with many other divisions in the 320-330 series it was flung into the fighting west of Moscow in the 10th Army to defend the capital and then to take part in the winter counteroffensive. After a year on a quiet sector the division rejoined the fighting in the late winter of 1943, eventually distinguishing itself sufficiently to be redesignated as the 90th Guards Rifle Division. After disappearing from the Soviet order of battle for more than a year a new division was formed in the spring of 1944, based on a cadre of two distinguished rifle brigades, and gave very creditable service for the duration, completing its combat path in East Prussia.
The 55th Rifle Division that served as a Red Army rifle division during the Great Patriotic War formed for the first time in September, 1925 as a territorial division headquartered at Kursk. When the German invasion began the unit was as Slutsk, but soon came under attack from their armored spearheads and lost most of its strength within days, and was eventually encircled and destroyed at Kiev. A new division was formed along the Volga in December, and was soon sent north to join in the fighting around Demyansk until early 1943. In many respects the 55th was a hard-luck unit; after being destroyed once, it drew assignments to mostly secondary fronts in areas where, due to the terrain and other circumstances, no unit could distinguish itself. By early 1944, the division was reduced to minimal strength for an active formation, and after making some key gains in the pursuit phase of Operation Bagration it was transferred north to the Baltic States and then disbanded to provide replacements for the other units in 61st Army. Elements of the disbanded division were repurposed to other roles in coastal defense and as a naval base garrison, continuing in service until 1956.
The 334th Rifle Division was formed in August 1941, as a standard Red Army rifle division in the Volga Military District. For most of the war it followed a very similar combat path to that of the 332nd Rifle Division, sometimes serving on adjacent sectors. It fought in the Battle of Moscow and during the winter counteroffensive was assigned to 4th Shock Army, where it would remain until November 1943. During this offensive it helped carve out the Toropets Salient, where it would remain until the autumn of 1943 when it helped to liberate Velizh and began advancing westward again. In the first days of the 1944 summer offensive the 334th shared credit with several other units in the liberation of Vitebsk and was awarded that name as an honorific. The unit advanced into East Prussia in January 1945, distinguishing itself in the siege of the heavily-fortified city of Königsberg and the clearing of the Baltic coast. It continued to serve briefly into the postwar period.
The 121st Guards Rifle Division was formed on September 23, 1943, based on the first formation of the 342nd Rifle Division, in the 80th Rifle Corps of 3rd Army. During 1943 it shared a similar combat path to that of the 120th Guards Rifle Division, which was formed in the same Army about a week later. On November 26 it was given credit for its role in the liberation of Gomel and won that city's name as an honorific. It was soon reassigned to 13th Army and would serve under that command for the rest of the war. In 1944 the division helped form the bridgehead over the Vistula at Sandomir, and in January, 1945, joined in the breakout from this bridgehead and the subsequent advance through Poland and into Germany, earning its final honor for the capture of Wittenberg. The 121st Guards ended the war in western Czechoslovakia with a very impressive combat record.
The 260th Rifle Division was an infantry division of the Red Army during World War II, formed twice.
The 359th Rifle Division was raised in 1941 as a standard Red Army rifle division, and served for the duration of the Great Patriotic War in that role. It took part in the costly battles around the German salient near Rzhev through 1942 and into 1943. Following this it served in the summer offensive towards Smolensk, also at considerable cost, but it won a battle honor for its role in the liberation of Yartsevo. After a brief rebuilding in the reserves, the division was moved south to the 1st Ukrainian Front, taking part in the liberation of Ukraine through 1944. Following the Vistula-Oder Offensive, the 359th gathered high honors during the fighting around Breslau in 1945, but along with many other distinguished Soviet formations it was disbanded with the coming of peace.
The 373rd Rifle Division was raised in 1941 as an infantry division of the Red Army, and served for the duration of the Great Patriotic War in that role. It began forming in August 1941 in the Urals Military District. It was moved to the front northwest of Moscow while still trying to complete its training and went straight into action in mid-December during the winter counteroffensive. Until May 1943, it was involved in the bloody fighting around the Rzhev salient. After a period in reserve for rebuilding, the division's combat path shifted southward when it was assigned to 52nd Army, where it remained for the duration of the war. It won a battle honor in eastern Ukraine, then fought across the Dniepr River late that year, and was awarded the Order of the Red Banner for its successes. Following this it advanced through western Ukraine in the spring of 1944, then into Romania in the summer, where it played a major role in the second encirclement and destruction of the German 6th Army. After again moving to the reserves the division shifted northwards with its Army to join 1st Ukrainian Front, fighting through Poland, eastern Germany and into Czechoslovakia. By then the 373rd had compiled an enviable record, and went on to serve briefly into the postwar era.
