29th Rifle Division (Soviet Union)

Last updated
29th Rifle Division
Active
  • 1st formation: 1920–1940
  • 2nd formation: July–October 1941
  • 3rd formation: December 1941–March 1943
  • 4th formation: 1943–1946
Country
Branch Red Army flag.svg Red Army
Type Division
Role Infantry
Engagements
Decorations Order of Suvorov 2nd class.png   Order of Suvorov (4th formation)
Honorifics

The 29th Rifle Division was an infantry division of the Red Army and later the Soviet Army.

Red Army 1917–1946 ground and air warfare branch of the Soviet Unions military

The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, frequently shortened to Red Army was the army and the air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, and, after 1922, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. The army was established immediately after the 1917 October Revolution. The Bolsheviks raised an army to oppose the military confederations of their adversaries during the Russian Civil War. Beginning in February 1946, the Red Army, along with the Soviet Navy, embodied the main component of the Soviet Armed Forces; taking the official name of "Soviet Army", until its dissolution in December 1991.

Soviet Army name given to the main part of the Armed Forces of the Soviet Union between 1946 and 1992

The Soviet Army is the name given to the main land-based branch of the Soviet Armed Forces between February 1946 and December 1991, when it was replaced with the Russian Ground Forces, although it was not fully abolished until 25 December 1993. Until 25 February 1946, it was known as the Red Army, established by decree on 15 (28) January 1918 "to protect the population, territorial integrity and civil liberties in the territory of the Soviet state." The Strategic Missile Troops, Air Defense Forces and Air Forces were part of the Soviet Army in addition to the Ground Forces.

Contents

It was first formed in November 1920 from the 1st Siberian Rifle Division, and fought in the Russian Civil War in Siberia. It was relocated to Belarus in 1923 and became a territorial division during the interwar period. In 1939 it fought in the Soviet invasion of Poland and was converted into a motorised division in July 1940. As part of the 6th Mechanized Corps, the division was destroyed in Operation Barbarossa, the German invasion of the Soviet Union, in late June 1941. The 29th was reformed from the 7th Moscow People's Militia Division in July, but destroyed in the Battle of Vyazma in October. A third 29th was formed in Kazakhstan in December and converted to the 72nd Guards Rifle Division for its actions in the Battle of Stalingrad in the spring of 1943.

Russian Civil War multi-party war in the former Russian Empire, November 1917-October 1922

The Russian Civil War was a multi-party war in the former Russian Empire immediately after the two Russian Revolutions of 1917, as many factions vied to determine Russia's political future. The two largest combatant groups were the Red Army, fighting for the Bolshevik form of socialism led by Vladimir Lenin, and the loosely allied forces known as the White Army, which included diverse interests favoring political monarchism, economic capitalism and alternative forms of socialism, each with democratic and antidemocratic variants. In addition, rival militant socialists and nonideological Green armies fought against both the Bolsheviks and the Whites. Eight foreign nations intervened against the Red Army, notably the former Allied military forces from the World War and the pro-German armies. The Red Army eventually defeated the White Armed Forces of South Russia in Ukraine and the army led by Admiral Aleksandr Kolchak to the east in Siberia in 1919. The remains of the White forces commanded by Pyotr Nikolayevich Wrangel were beaten in Crimea and evacuated in late 1920. Lesser battles of the war continued on the periphery for two more years, and minor skirmishes with the remnants of the White forces in the Far East continued well into 1923. The war ended in 1923 in the sense that Bolshevik communist control of the newly formed Soviet Union was now assured, although armed national resistance in Central Asia was not completely crushed until 1934. There were an estimated 7,000,000–12,000,000 casualties during the war, mostly civilians. The Russian Civil War has been described by some as the greatest national catastrophe that Europe had yet seen.

Interwar period Period between the end of World War I and the beginning of World War II

In the context of the history of the 20th century, the interwar period was the period between the end of the First World War in November 1918 and the beginning of the Second World War in September 1939.

Soviet invasion of Poland

The Soviet invasion of Poland was a military operation by the Soviet Union without a formal declaration of war. On 17 September 1939, the Soviet Union invaded Poland from the east, sixteen days after Germany invaded Poland from the west. Subsequent military operations lasted for the following 20 days and ended on 6 October 1939 with the two-way division and annexation of the entire territory of the Second Polish Republic by Germany and the Soviet Union. The Soviet invasion of Poland was secretly approved by Germany following the signing of the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact on 23 August 1939.

The 29th was reformed for a fourth time in 1943. It served through the rest of the war and was awarded the honorific Polotsk and the Order of Suvorov. Postwar, it was withdrawn to the Volga Military District and reduced to a brigade, which became the 63rd Mechanised Division in 1953. In 1957 it became the 110th Motor Rifle Division before being renumbered as the 29th in 1964. It relocated to Kamen-Rybolov in 1968, serving there until its disbandment after the end of the Cold War.

Polotsk City in Vitebsk Region, Belarus

Polotsk is a historical city in Belarus, situated on the Dvina River. It is the center of the Polotsk District in Vitsebsk Voblast. Its population is more than 80,000 people. It is served by Polotsk Airport and during the Cold War was home to Borovitsy air base.

Order of Suvorov order

The Order of Suvorov is a military decoration of the Russian Federation named in honor of Russian Field Marshal Count Alexander Suvorov (1729–1800).

The Volga Military District (PriVO) was a military district of the Soviet Union and the Russian Federation that existed from 1918 to 1989 and 1992 to 2001.

First formation

The 4th Rifle Division was formed from local guard battalions and other units from Omsk, Semipalatinsk, and Novonikolayevsk in accordance with an order of the troops in Siberia of 28 September 1920, part of the 5th Army. By an order of 26 October, it was redesignated the 1st Siberian Rifle Division. The division became the 29th Rifle Division in accordance with an order of the assistant to the commander in chief for Siberia on 15 November. The division received the honorific Vyatka on 30 November 1921. In 1922, the 29th fought in the suppression of the West Siberian revolt, a series of peasant uprisings against Soviet rule. It fought in Akmola, Tyumen, and Tobolsk Governorates, and in the areas of Ishim, Yalutorovsk, and Petropavlovsk. Between January and June the division protected the Omsk section of the Trans-Siberian Railway. Later that year, it was transferred to the Western Siberian Military District. [1]

Omsk City in Omsk Oblast, Russia

Omsk is a city and the administrative center of Omsk Oblast, Russia, located in southwestern Siberia 2,236 kilometers (1,389 mi) from Moscow. With a population of 1,154,116, it is Russia's second-largest city east of the Ural Mountains after Novosibirsk, and seventh by size nationally. Omsk acts as an essential transport node, serving as a train station for Trans-Siberian Railway and as a staging post for the Irtysh River.

Kirov, Kirov Oblast City in Kirov Oblast, Russia

Kirov is a city and the administrative center of Kirov Oblast, Russia, located on the Vyatka River. As of the 2010 Census, its population was 473,695.

Tobolsk Governorate governorate of the Russian Empire

Tobolsk Governorate was an administrative division of the Russian Empire, located in the Ural Mountains and Siberia. It existed from 1796 to 1920; its seat was in the city of Tobolsk.

The 29th was transferred to the Western Military District (later the Belorussian Military District) to participate in maneuvers in September 1923, joining the 4th Rifle Corps. Between 29 March 1924 and the mid-1930s, the 29th was a territorial unit. On 12 December 1924, the 29th received the honorific named for the Finnish proletariat and lost the Vyatka honorific. In September 1939, it fought in the Soviet invasion of Poland. [1]

The 4th Rifle Corps was a corps of the Red Army, active from the 1920s.

The 29th was officially redesignated as a motorised division on 4 July 1940. [1] With 6th Mechanised Corps, 10th Army, Western Front on 22 June 1941. Poirer and Connor appear to say it was wiped out near Minsk in July 1941. It was formally disbanded on 19 September 1941. [2]

The 10th Army of the Soviet Union's Red Army was a field army active from 1939 to 1944.

Western Front (Soviet Union) Front of the Red Army

The Western Front was a front of the Red Army, one of the Red Army Fronts during World War II.

Second formation

It was then recreated from the 7th Moscow People's Militia Division in July 1941, and again wiped out at Vyazma in October 1941.

Third formation

On December 5, 1941, recreation of the 29th Rifle Division began in Akmolinsk, Kazakhstan, and its organization was completed on January 16, 1942. It was reformed on the basis of the very short lived 459th Rifle Division. [3] The division was made up of 106th, 128th, 299th Rifle and 77th Artillery Regiments. Other units included the 125th Anti-Tank, 78th Sapper, 124th Signal, and 29th Medical Battalions, and the 104th Reconnaissance Company. The division was held in reserve until June 1942, when its men were deemed to have received sufficient training.

In July 1942 29th Rifle Division was ordered to move to Stalingrad and join the 64th Army. In August 1942 units of the division first met with the Germans. During Battle of Stalingrad they killed 5,242 and took 13,447 captive.

On February 2, 1943, the Battle of Stalingrad was finally over. Due to the heroism of the soldiers, the 29th Rifle Division (2nd formation) was redesignated the 72nd Guards Rifle Division by Directorate of the General Staff order №104 on March 1, 1943.

29th Rifle Division72nd Guards Rifle Division
106 Rifle Regiment222 Guards Rifle Regiment
128 Rifle Regiment224 Guards Rifle Regiment
77 Artillery Regiment155 Guards Artillery Regiment

Fourth formation

The 29th Rifle Division was recreated in 1943 and saw action at Kirovograd. It gained the honorific 'Polotsk' and the Order of Suvorov, 2nd class. With 6th Guards Army of the Kurland Group (Leningrad Front) May 1945.

In the summer of 1945, the 123rd Rifle Corps, with the 29th Rifle Division, arrived in the Volga Military District. Corps headquarters was established at Kuibyshev and headquarters of the 29th Rifle Division at Shikhany. [4] In 1946, it became the 10th Separate Rifle Brigade. [5] The division became the 63rd Mechanised Division on 18 September 1953, then the 110th Motor Rifle Division was activated on 4 June 1957 in Shikhany, Saratov Oblast, from the 63rd Mechanised Division. [6] [7] From 1957 to 1960 the division was part of the 40th Army Corps.

On 17 November 1964 it was renamed the 29th Motor Rifle Division. [6] In April 1968 it was moved to Kamen-Rybolov, Primorsky Krai, and joined the 5th Red Banner Army.

It was disbanded in 1994.

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References

Citations

  1. 1 2 3 Dvoinykh, Kariaeva, Stegantsev, eds. 1993, pp. 105–106.
  2. ↑ RKKA.ru, 29th Rifle Division (formed 1920)
  3. ↑ Grylev, A., Gen. Maj., Perecheni No.5 of the General Staff: Rifle, mountain, motor-rifle and motorised divisions included in the active army during the years of the Great Patriotic War 1941-1945, Military-scientific directorate of the General Staff, Moscow, 1970, via www.soldat.ru, Perechen, verified 4 June 2008, p. 20.
  4. ↑ Feskov et al 2013, p. 508.
  5. ↑ Feskov et al 2013, p. 147.
  6. 1 2 Michael Holm, 29th Motor Rifle Division
  7. ↑ Feskov et al 2013, p. 205.

Bibliography

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