The 51st Army was a field army of the Red Army that saw action against the Germans in World War II on both the southern and northern sectors of the front. The army participated in the Battle of the Kerch Peninsula between December 1941 and January 1942; it was destroyed in May 1942 with other Soviet forces when the Wehrmacht launched an operation to dislodge them from the peninsula. The army fought in the Battle of Stalingrad during the winter of 1942–43, helping to defeat German relief attempts. From late 1944 to the end of the war, the army fought in the final cutting-off of German forces in the Courland area next to the Baltic. Inactivated in 1945, the army was activated again in 1977 to secure Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands. Following the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the army continued in existence as a component of the Russian Ground Forces. The army was active during two periods from 1941 until 1997.
The 138th Rifle Division was twice formed as an infantry division of the Red Army, first as part of the buildup of forces immediately after the start of World War II in Europe. The first formation was based on the shtat of September 13, 1939 and under this organization it took part in the Winter War against Finland, arriving at the front north of Leningrad in December and performing so capably in the battles in early 1940 that it was awarded the Order of the Red Banner. Following this it was converted to serve for two years as a mountain rifle division in the Caucasus region. Following Operation Barbarossa and the German invasion of the Crimea elements of the division were committed to amphibious landings behind enemy lines in early 1942 but these proved abortive. Soon after the 138th was converted back to a standard rifle division. Arriving on the southern approaches to Stalingrad in late July the division fought on the approaches to the city through August and into September before it was assigned to 62nd Army and shipped into the factory district in mid-October. Well into November it played a leading role in defending the Barricades (Barrikady) ordnance factory, eventually becoming isolated in a thin strip of land between the factory and the Volga which became known as "Lyudnikov's Island" after its commanding officer. Following the Soviet counteroffensive that encircled the German 6th Army and other Axis forces in and near Stalingrad the division restored contact with the rest of its Army and then helped eliminate its trapped foes, for which it was raised to Guards status as the 70th Guards Rifle Division.
The 70th Guards Rifle Division was formed as an elite infantry division of the Red Army in February, 1943, based on the 1st formation of the 138th Rifle Division in recognition of that division's actions during the battle, and served in that role until well after the end of the Great Patriotic War.
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 399th Rifle Division was an infantry division of the Red Army. Partially raised in 1941, this formation was abandoned until a second formation began in February 1942, this time in the far east of Siberia. The formation lasted until July, after which it was moved west to join the Stalingrad Front in the great bend of the Don River. Badly mauled in its first actions, it was rebuilt west of the Don in late July, and went on to contest the German advance right into the center of the city. The remnants of the division were pulled out and sent north to Bryansk Front, and the once-again rebuilt division went on to serve in the winter offensive against the German forces in the salient around Oryol. It was present on the right flank of the Kursk salient during the German offensive in July 1943 but saw little action until the Soviet forces went on the counterattack later that month. During the advance into western Russia it earned a battle honor. Through the winter of 1943-44 it helped to make incremental gains against the forces of Army Group Center, setting the stage for the summer offensive, during which the division would win its first decoration. Later that year it advanced into Poland and in early 1945 it took part in the battles for East Prussia, and won the Order of the Red Banner for its efforts. The division was disbanded shortly thereafter.
The 320th Rifle Division was formed in September 1941, as a standard Red Army rifle division, based on an existing division of militia. This formation was devastated in the Kerch Peninsula in May 1942, and officially disbanded before the end of the month. A second division began forming in the Transcaucasus in August, and served for the duration in the southern regions of the Soviet-German front. It distinguished itself in the liberation of Yenakiyevo in March 1943, but also suffered massive losses, including the death of the division's commanding officer, along the Dniestr River in May 1944. A substantially rebuilt division soldiered on through the Balkans, ending the war near Vienna.
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 340th Rifle Division began forming in August 1941, as a standard Red Army rifle division, at Balashov in the Saratov Oblast. The division went into the lines defending Moscow in November, then into the winter counteroffensive in December. After rebuilding, the division was assigned as the only rifle division in the new 5th Tank Army, but avoided the fate of most of the tank units of that formation when it attacked in July 1942. Following another aborted offensive in July, the 340th settled into mostly defensive assignments until after the Soviet victory at Kursk, when it joined in the general offensive through eastern Ukraine to the Dniepr River, winning honors for its role in the liberation of Sumy, and later Kiev. During 1944 the division continued the westward march through northern Ukraine and on into Poland in the Lvov-Sandomierz Offensive before being reassigned to 4th Ukrainian Front advancing into the Carpathian Mountains of Slovakia. The 340th ended its distinguished record of service in 1st Guards Army in Czechoslovakia.
The 352nd Rifle Division started forming in August 1941, as a standard Red Army rifle division, at Bugulma in Tatarstan. When it entered the fighting it was assigned to the Western Front before Moscow, and it would remain in that Front for most of the war; when Western Front was dissolved the division went to one of its successor Fronts and served there until the last few weeks. It took part in the first Soviet winter counteroffensive, then played peripheral roles in the battles around the Rhzev salient, before advancing in the offensive that liberated Smolensk in the summer of 1943. After a series of frustrating attempts during the autumn and winter of 1943-44, the city of Orsha was finally liberated in the opening days of Operation Bagration, and the 352nd was recognized for its role in the battle. Soon after it was further decorated for its part in the liberation of Grodno. In the winter of 1945 the 352nd took part in the invasion of East Prussia and the capture of Königsberg, but in April it finally was swung off its very straightforward combat path when it and its 31st Army were transferred to 1st Ukrainian Front advancing into Czechoslovakia. Soon after the German surrender the division was slated as one of those to be disbanded in place in central Europe.
The 395th Rifle Division was converted from a militia division to a regular infantry division of the Red Army in October 1941, and served during the Great Patriotic War in that role. As a militia unit it was under command of the Kharkov Military District and designated as the Voroshilovgrad Militia Division, although it was unofficially known as the 395th before it was converted. It took part in the fighting near Rostov-on-Don during the winter of 1941–42 in the 18th Army, and retreated with that Army into the northern Caucasus mountains in the face of the German summer offensive, fighting under the command of the 18th and 12th Armies, then in the 56th Army in October. As the Axis forces retreated from the Caucasus in early 1943 it was sent to the 46th and later to the 37th Army of North Caucasus Front. During the battles that cleared the German forces from the Taman peninsula from August to October the 395th was back in 56th Army and was awarded a battle honor for its part in the campaign. By the end of 1943 it had returned to 18th Army, now under 1st Ukrainian Front near Kiev. In January 1944 the division was decorated with both the Order of the Red Banner and the Order of Suvorov. With its Front it advanced through western Ukraine, Poland and eastern Germany, finally taking part in the Lower Silesian, Berlin, and Prague offensives in early 1945 as part of 13th Army.
The 406th Rifle Division was raised in 1941 as an infantry division of the Red Army, and served throughout the Great Patriotic War in that role, but saw relatively little combat. It was raised as a Georgian National division in the Transcaucasus Military District, where it remained until the forces of German Army Group A began its drive on the oil fields there as part of Operation Blue. In August 1942 it joined the Northern Group in the Transcaucasus Front, in the 46th Army, defending the high passes through the High Caucasus Mountains west of Mount Elbrus. Once the German threat receded, the 406th returned to guard duties along the borders with Turkey and Iran for the duration of the war.
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 the end of the Great Patriotic War. 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 14th Guards Rifle Division was reformed as an elite infantry division of the Red Army in January, 1942, based on the 1st formation of the 96th Rifle Division, which was officially a mountain unit at the time, and served in that role until after the end of the Great Patriotic War. It was in Southern Front when it was redesignated and was soon assigned to the 57th Army. It was encircled during the German counterattack in the Second Battle of Kharkov in May and its first commander was made a prisoner of war, later dying in German captivity. A cadre of the division managed to escape and was sent to the Reserve of the Supreme High Command for rebuilding. In July it joined the 63rd Army and took part in the attacks against the Italian 8th Army that created the bridgehead south of the Don River near Serafimovich during August. In October, now in 21st Army of Don Front, it was active in two probing attacks against the Romanian forces now containing the bridgehead which inflicted severe casualties in advance of the Soviet winter counteroffensive. At the start of that offensive the division was in 5th Tank Army, but was soon transferred to 1st Guards Army and then to the 3rd Guards Army when that was formed. It was under this Army as it advanced into the Donbas in late winter before returning to 57th Army during most of 1943, fighting through east Ukraine and across the lower Dniepr by the end of the year. After being briefly assigned to 53rd Army in December it was moved to 5th Guards Army in February, 1944 where it remained for the duration, mostly in the 33rd Guards Rifle Corps. It saw action in the Uman–Botoșani Offensive and won its first decoration, the Order of the Red Banner, as it advanced, before being involved in the frustrating battles along the Dniestr River on the Romanian border. In late spring, 1944 the division was redeployed north becoming part of 1st Ukrainian Front and taking part in the Lvov–Sandomierz Offensive into Poland. The 14th Guards made a spectacular advance across Poland during the Vistula-Oder Offensive and was awarded the Order of Lenin for its part in the liberation of Sandomierz. On January 22, 1945, its commander suffered mortal wounds in the fighting for a bridgehead over the Oder River. In the drive on Berlin in April the division and its regiments won further honors and decorations but despite these distinctions it was disbanded in August, 1946.
The 119th Guards Rifle Division was formed as an elite infantry division of the Red Army in September 1943, based on the 11th Guards Naval Rifle Brigade and the 15th Guards Naval Rifle Brigade and was one of a small series of Guards divisions formed on a similar basis. Although the two brigades had distinguished themselves in the fighting south of Stalingrad as part of 64th Army they were moved to Northwestern Front in the spring of 1943 before being reorganized. After serving briefly in 22nd Army the division was moved to reinforce the 3rd Shock Army within the large salient that Army had created behind German lines after a breakthrough at Nevel in October. In the following months it fought both to expand the salient and defend it against German counterattacks in a highly complex situation. In January 1944 it was transferred to the 7th Guards Rifle Corps of 10th Guards Army, still in the Nevel region, after which it advanced toward the Panther Line south of Lake Peipus. During operations in the Baltic states that summer and autumn the 119th Guards was awarded both a battle honor and the Order of the Red Banner for its operations in Latvia. In March 1945 it joined the Kurland Group of Forces of Leningrad Front on the Baltic coast containing the German forces encircled in northwest Latvia. Following the German surrender it was moved to Estonia where it was disbanded in 1946.
The 129th Guards Rifle Division was formed as an elite infantry division of the Red Army in October 1943, based on the 1st formation of the 176th Rifle Division. It was the highest-numbered Guards division designated by the Red Army, although not the last to be formed.
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.
The 233rd 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. As part of 20th Army it was moved from the Moscow Military District to the front west of Orsha by July 2. Serving under Western Front the 20th was soon pocketed in the Smolensk region and although remnants of the 233rd were able to escape the division was no longer combat-effective and was broken up for replacements in early August.
The 236th Rifle Division was formed as an infantry division of the Red Army after a motorized division of that same number was reorganized in the first weeks of the German invasion of the Soviet Union. It was based on the shtat of July 29, 1941, although it was briefly redesignated as a mountain rifle division prior to making an amphibious landing at Feodosia in late December. This overly ambitious undertaking by Crimean Front's 44th Army led to a disaster when a German counterattack retook the port, destroying much of the division's personnel and equipment. The remnants of the division were forced to evacuate the Crimea in the wake of the German counteroffensive in May.
Soviet Union 
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Order of the Red Banner 
Order of Kutuzov 