| 404th Rifle Division | |
|---|---|
| Active | 1941–1942 |
| Country |  Soviet Union |
| Branch | Red Army |
| Type | Infantry |
| Engagements | World War II |
The 404th Rifle Division was an infantry division of the Soviet Union's Red Army during World War II. Formed in late 1941, the division fought in the Battle of the Kerch Peninsula and was destroyed there in May 1942. [1]
The division was formed from September to October 1941 on the Transcaucasian Front, in accordance with Stavka Order No. 170426. It was commanded by Colonel Pyotr Motovilov. [1] After completing its formation, the division was deployed in the Caucasus, fighting in combat from 1 December. [2] It was part of the 44th Army. On 26 December, the division landed in Crimea during the Battle of the Kerch peninsula. On 29 March, Colonel Mikhail Menshikov took command of the division. Colonel Dmitry Kuropatenko took command on 26 April. [1] [3] During the German offensive in May 1942, the division was destroyed. It was officially disbanded on 14 June 1942. [4]
The division included the following units. [4]
The 131st Separate Motor Rifle Brigade was a motorised infantry unit of the Soviet Army and of the Russian Ground Forces.
The 101st Rifle Division was a unit of the Soviet Red Army initially formed as a mountain rifle division on 28 August 1938 within the 2nd Separate Red Banner Army in Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky city.
The 14th Rifle Division was an infantry division of the Red Army. Formed in Moscow in 1922, the division spent most of the interwar period at Vladimir. After moving to the Kola Peninsula during the Winter War, the division fought on that front during the Continuation War. After the end of the Continuation War it became the 101st Guards Rifle Division.
The 15th Rifle Division was a military formation of the Red Army formed by renaming the Red Army's Inza Revolutionary Division on 30 April 1919. The division was active during the Russian Civil War and World War II.
The 95th Rifle Division was a Red Army Rifle Division during World War II, formed three times. The division was first formed in November 1923 with the 6th Rifle Corps. It fought in the Winter War and the Soviet occupation of Bessarabia and Northern Bukovina. After Operation Barbarossa, the division fought in the retreat from Moldova and fought in the siege of Odessa and the siege of Sevastopol. It was destroyed during the siege of Sevastopol and was disbanded in late July 1942. The division was reformed in August 1942 from the 13th Motor Rifle Division NKVD and fought at the Battle of Stalingrad. For its actions during the battle, the division became the 75th Guards Rifle Division in March 1943. In April 1943, the division was formed a third time at Kaluga from the 121st Rifle Brigade. It fought in Operation Bagration.
The 34th Rifle Division was an infantry division of the Red Army during and before World War II. The division was formed in 1923. It fought in the Soviet invasion of Manchuria in August 1945. Postwar, it became the 11th Machine Gun Artillery Division.
The 40th Rifle Division was an infantry division of the Red Army during World War II. It gained the honorific "named for Sergo Ordzhonikidze" on 14 April 1937. It fought in the engagements at Lake Khasan. On 22 June 1941, it was part of the 39th Rifle Corps, 25th Army, in the Far East Military District. The division fought in the Soviet invasion of Manchuria in 1945. In 1957, it was converted into a motorized rifle division. From 1957 to 1989 it was based at Smolyaninovo-1, Primorskiy Krai. In 1989 it was transferred to the Pacific Fleet as a coastal defence division. It was disbanded in 1996.
The 47th Rifle Division was an infantry division of the Red Army. It was first formed in 1922 as the Georgian Rifle Division. In 1924, it became the 1st Georgian Mountain Division. The division became the 47th Georgian Mountain Rifle Division in 1936 and dropped the designation "Georgian" in 1940. It was disbanded in June 1942 after being wiped out at Izyum. In July 1942, the 47th Rifle Division was formed from the 21st Rifle Brigade. It fought in the Nevel Offensive, for which it was awarded the title "Nevel". The division was disbanded in the Baltic Military District in 1946. It was also awarded the Order of Lenin and the Order of Suvorov 2nd class. The division was reformed a third time from the 277th Rifle Division in 1955 but disbanded in July 1956.
The 79th Motor Rifle Division was a motorized infantry division of the Soviet Army. It was converted from the 79th Rifle Division in 1957 and inherited the honorific "Sakhalin". The division was awarded the Order of the Red Banner. The 79th Rifle Division fought in the Invasion of South Sakhalin in 1945 and was based at Leonidovo for most of its career.
The 120th Rifle Division was an infantry division of the Red Army, formed three times. Its first formation became the 6th Guards Rifle Division for its actions in the Yelnya Offensive. Its second formation became the 69th Guards Rifle Division for its actions in the Battle of Stalingrad. The division was reformed a third time in late April 1943. It was disbanded "in place" with the Central Group of Forces in the summer of 1945.
The 49th Rifle Division was a Soviet Army infantry division, formed three times. First formed as a territorial division in 1931, the 49th Rifle Division's first formation became a regular division by 1939 and fought in the Winter War. For its actions during the war, it was awarded the Order of the Red Banner. However, the 49th Rifle Division was wiped out during the first ten days of Operation Barbarossa. Its second formation occurred in December 1941 and fought at Stalingrad, Kursk, the Vistula-Oder Offensive and the Battle of Berlin. The second formation was disbanded in 1946. The division was reformed in 1955 by renaming the 295th Rifle Division and became the 49th Motor Rifle Division in 1957.
The 51st Rifle Division was an infantry division of the Soviet Army, formed twice. Its first formation was formed during the Russian Civil War and fought in the Perekop-Chongar Offensive in 1920. It also fought in the Soviet invasion of Poland, Winter War and World War II. During World War II, it fought in the Battle of Rostov, Barvinkove-Losowaja Operation and Second Battle of Kharkov before being destroyed at the Battle of Voronezh. Officially disbanded on 28 November 1942, the division was reformed on 15 April 1943 from the 15th Rifle Brigade. The 2nd formation fought in Operation Bagration and the Battle of Königsberg. It was disbanded in an executive order by Premier Joseph Stalin in 1946.
The 54th Rifle Division was an infantry division of the Soviet Union's Red Army and Soviet Army, formed twice. The division was formed in 1936 and fought in the Winter War. The division spent most of World War II in Karelia fighting with Finnish troops in the Continuation War. After Finland left the war the division was relocated southward and fought in the East Prussian Offensive and the Prague Offensive in 1945. The division was disbanded in the summer of that year. The 54th Rifle Division was awarded the Order of Lenin, the Order of the Red Banner and the Order of Kutuzov 2nd class. It was also awarded the honorific "Masuria" for its actions in the East Prussian Offensive. The division was reformed in 1955 from the 341st Rifle Division and became a motor rifle division in 1957.
The 166th Rifle Division was an infantry division of the Soviet Union's Red Army that fought in World War II, formed twice. The division's first formation was formed in 1939 and wiped out in the Vyazma Pocket in October 1941. In January 1942, the division reformed. It fought in the Battle of Demyansk, the Battle of Kursk, Belgorod-Khar'kov Offensive Operation, Vitebsk–Orsha Offensive, Polotsk Offensive, Šiauliai Offensive, Riga Offensive and the Battle of Memel. It was awarded the Order of the Red Banner.
The 65th Rifle Division was an infantry division of the Soviet Union's Red Army.
The 111th Tank Division was a Tank division of the Soviet Union's Red Army and after 1946, the Soviet Army. The division was formed in the summer of 1941 in the Soviet Far East from the tank regiment of a motorized division that had been reorganized into a motor rifle division, and had thus lost its tank regiment. The division never fought in combat and was in reserve during the Soviet invasion of Manchuria. Postwar, the division continued its garrison duty in the Far East. The 111th was renumbered as the 16th Tank Division in 1955.
The 390th Rifle Division was an infantry division of the Soviet Union's Red Army during World War II. It was formed twice, first in August 1941, and after its destruction in 1942, re-formed in 1944.
The 1st Rifle Division NKVD was a division of the NKVD of the Soviet Union during World War II.
The 58th Rifle Division was an infantry division of the Red Army formed during the interwar period. Its second formation during World War II gained the Oder honorific.
The 1st Tank Division was a Division sized unit of the Red Army that existed from 1940–42. It was later reformed, from a separate formation, with a different lineage. Within the Soviet Ground Forces it existed as a second line ready division from 1945–2008, at Kaliningrad in the Baltic Military District.
