The 90th Guards Rifle Vitebsk Division was an infantry division of the Red Army during World War II. Formed from the 325th Rifle Division in recognition of its actions during the winter of 1943, the division fought in the Battle of Kursk, the Belgorod-Khar'kov Offensive Operation, Operation Bagration, the Baltic Offensive, the Vistula–Oder Offensive, and the East Prussian Offensive.
The 38th Red Banner Army was a field army of the Soviet Union that existed between 1941 and 1991.
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 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 300th Rifle Division began service as a standard Red Army rifle division shortly after the German invasion, and fought in the southwestern part of the Soviet-German front for nearly two years following. It was able to escape the encirclement east of Kiev in September, 1941, and then fought to defend, and later to try to liberate, the city of Kharkov during 1941-42. After falling back under the weight of the German 1942 summer offensive, the division began distinguish itself during Operation Uranus in late 1942, when it helped defeat the German attempt to relieve Sixth Army and later in the pursuit of the defeated Axis forces and the second liberation of Rostov-na-Donu. In recognition of these successes it was raised to Guards status as the 87th Guards Rifle Division. A second 300th Rifle Division was raised a few months later and fought briefly but very successfully against the Japanese in Manchuria in August 1945. The second formation became the 3rd Tank Division in the Far East postwar and was redesignated as the 46th Tank Division in 1957 before disbanding in 1959.
The 309th Rifle Division was formed for the first time as a standard Red Army rifle division shortly after the German invasion. It fought its first battles at the Yelnya Salient, participating in that early Soviet success before being swept up in Operation Typhoon, encircled and destroyed. At the very end of 1941 the division was reformed. It served on mostly inactive sectors during 1942, but in 1943 it played an important role in containing the offensive of 4th Panzer Army at Kursk. It followed this in September with one of the first successful assault crossings of the Dniepr River, for which many men of the 309th were named as Heroes of the Soviet Union. The division continued in combat through Ukraine, Poland and Silesia before ending the war near Breslau.
The 330th Rifle Division was formed as an infantry division of the Red Army late in the summer of 1941, as part of the massive buildup of new Soviet fighting formations at that time. It took part in the defense of Tula in 10th Army soon after reaching the front, and remained in that army for a remarkably long time, until April 1944. It fought in the offensive push into German-occupied western Russia through 1943, then in the destruction of Army Group Center in the summer of 1944, distinguishing itself in the liberation of Mogilyov in June. In 1945 the men and women of the 330th took part in the Vistula-Oder Offensive through Poland and into Pomerania, and then finally in the fighting north of Berlin, ending the war with high distinction, but being disbanded soon after.
The 206th Rifle Division was twice formed as an infantry division of the Red Army, first as part of the prewar buildup of forces. Its first formation in March 1941 was based on the last prewar shtat for rifle divisions. When the German invasion began it was still organizing well away from the front near Krivoi Rog but was soon sent to the Kiev Fortified Sector where it eventually came under command of the 37th Army. It was deeply encircled by the German offensive in September and destroyed, but not officially stricken from the Soviet order of battle until late December.
The 68th Guards Rifle Division was reformed as an elite infantry division of the Red Army in February 1943, based on the 1st formation of the 96th Rifle Division, and served in that role until after the end of the Great Patriotic War. It originally served in the Stalingrad Group of Forces, mopping up in the ruins of that city after the Axis surrender there before eventually being assigned to the 4th Guards Army and moving north to the Kursk area in the Steppe Military District. It entered combat with its Army during the Belgorod-Kharkov Offensive in August and continued fighting toward the Dniepr River and Kiev during the autumn and early winter. From late September until early November it was involved in the fighting around the Bukrin bridgeheads which ultimately ended in a stalemate. The 68th Guards was part of 1st Ukrainian Front until September, 1944 but was subordinated to numerous army and corps commands during this period and won an honorific in western Ukraine during March; subsequently it was also awarded the Order of the Red Banner for its part in the liberation of Lvov. After being removed to the Reserve of the Supreme High Command for much-needed rebuilding its combat path shifted into the Balkans. While rebuilding its antitank battalion had its towed pieces replaced with self-propelled guns and at the beginning of November the entire division was temporarily motorized to take part in an unsuccessful attempt to seize the city of Budapest via a mechanized thrust. The 68th Guards spent the remainder of the war fighting in Hungary and Austria; its regiments would all receive recognition for their roles in the battles for Budapest. The division was finally assigned to the 30th Rifle Corps of 26th Army in January, 1945 and remained under these headquarters for the duration of the war. Despite a solid record of service the 68th Guards was disbanded within two years.
The 97th Rifle Division was thrice formed as an infantry division of the Red Army, first as part of the prewar buildup of forces. The first formation was based on the pre-September 1939 shtat and the division was initially intended to serve in the fortifications along the border with Poland in western Ukraine. Beginning on September 17, 1939 it took part in the invasion of eastern Poland and then was moved north to join the 7th Army and later the 13th Army on the Karelian Isthmus during the Winter War against Finland where it saw action in the latter part of the struggle. Following this it returned to western Ukraine where it was on the border at the time of the German invasion in June 1941. At considerable cost it was able to retreat back to the Dniepr River south of Kiev during July and was still there as part of 26th Army when the Soviet forces in eastern Ukraine were largely surrounded and wiped out in September. The division was finally disbanded in late December.
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 211th Rifle Division was an infantry division of the Red Army, originally formed just after the start of the German invasion, based on the shtat of September 13, 1939. In fact the division remained chronically short of equipment, particularly heavy weapons, throughout the existence of the 1st formation. Assigned to 43rd Army of Reserve Front it first saw combat along the Desna River at the time of the Yelnya offensive and several of its subunits were overtaken by panic when counterattacked by German tanks. During the first day of Operation Typhoon its line was breached and it was soon encircled and destroyed.
The 212th Rifle Division was formed as an infantry division of the Red Army after a motorized division of that same number was badly damaged and then redesignated about five weeks after the start of the German invasion of the Soviet Union.
The 218th Rifle Division was formed as an infantry division of the Red Army after a motorized division of that same number was redesignated about 10 weeks after the start of the German invasion of the Soviet Union.
The 226th 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. After being hastily organized it arrived at the front along the lower Dniepr River as part of 6th Army and in the wake of the German victory in the Kiev encirclement it fell back toward, and then past, Kharkiv and spent the winter fighting in this area. During the Second Battle of Kharkov in May 1942 it scored early successes but was soon forced back by counterattacking panzers and barely escaped destruction in the first phases of the German summer offensive. After rebuilding in the Reserve of the Supreme High Command the division returned to the front north of Stalingrad where it joined the 66th Army. It took heavy losses in one of the last efforts to break through to the city before Operation Uranus cut off the German 6th Army, but it still played an important role in the reduction of the pocket during Operation Ring and as a result was redesignated as the 95th Guards Rifle Division in May 1943.
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 232nd Rifle Division was an infantry division of the Red Army, originally formed in the weeks just before the start of the German invasion, based on the shtat of September 13, 1939. It was quickly moved to the fighting front as part of the 66th Rifle Corps in 21st Army, and it remained in this Corps for its brief existence. 21st Army was deployed in western Belarus, attempting to plug the gaps created by the defeats of the border armies in the first weeks of Barbarossa, and the division made a deep penetration into the German rear in the eastern fringes of the Pripet Marshes, but this was ultimately unsustainable. By early September, the 232nd was greatly depleted due to almost continual combat, before being encircled and destroyed east of Kyiv.
The 237th 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. At the opening of Operation Barbarossa it was in the Leningrad Military District where it had formed near the Finnish border but was soon moved south to defend against German Army Group North. As part of 16th Rifle Corps in 11th Army it took part in the battle of Soltsy, which imposed a significant delay on the German advance toward Leningrad. In August it was encircled while serving with 48th Army and suffered such heavy losses that it was disbanded on September 17.
The 240th 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 months of the German invasion of the Soviet Union. It was based on the shtat of July 29, 1941, with several modifications. This conversion required several months and the division arrived at the front too late to see much action in the winter counteroffensive west of Moscow. At the start of the German summer offensive in June 1942 it was serving in Bryansk Front west of Voronezh and gradually fell back to east of that city before taking part in the Voronezh–Kastornoye offensive in January and February 1943, liberating the town of Tim and assisting in the elimination of an encircled column of German and Hungarian troops as part of 38th Army. As part of this Army it played a minor role in the Battle of Kursk and then a more major one in the subsequent advance through eastern Ukraine. After arriving at the Dniepr River north of Kyiv the 240th was instrumental in establishing the bridgehead at Lyutizh which later became the springboard for the liberation of the Ukrainian capital, and would be awarded battle honors for both of these accomplishments. During the offensives into western Ukraine in the spring of 1944 the division won, in quick succession, the Order of Bogdan Khmelnitsky, the Order of the Red Banner and the Order of Suvorov. As part of 40th Army, mostly under 50th Rifle Corps, it took part in the Jassy–Kishinev offensives and the subsequent advance across the Carpathian Mountains into Hungary. During the fighting through that country and into Slovakia during the months leading to the German surrender the subunits of the division were awarded a large number of decorations and other honors, but despite this distinguished record the 240th was surplus to requirements and was disbanded in the summer of 1945.
Sarkis Sogomonovich Martirosyan was an Armenian general-leytenant of the Soviet Army and a Hero of the Soviet Union. Martirosyan held a series of division and corps commands during World War II, and was made a Hero of the Soviet Union for his leadership of the 73rd Rifle Corps in the January 1945 Sandomierz–Silesian offensive.
Soviet Union 
Red Army 
Order of the Red Banner 
Order of Suvorov 
Order of Kutuzov 