The 79th Guards Rifle Division was an infantry division of the Red Army during World War II.
The 5th Shock Army was a Red Army field army of World War II. The army was formed on 9 December 1942 by redesignating the 10th Reserve Army. The army was formed two times prior to this with neither formation lasting more than a month before being redesignated.
The 109th Rifle Division was a Red Army infantry division that was formed three times, briefly in 1939, during 1942, and again from 1942 to 1946. The first formation of the division was converted to a mechanized division after about nine months. Its second formation served for six months in 1942 in the defense of the fortress of Sevastopol, in the southern sector of the siege lines. After being destroyed there in July, a third division was formed by re-designating an existing rifle division near Leningrad in August, and it successfully held its positions for nearly a year and a half, in spite of shortages of food and supplies due to the German/Finnish siege. The 109th then participated in the Leningrad–Novgorod Offensive that drove the Germans and Finns away from the city and lifted the siege in early 1944, helped drive Finland out of the war in the Vyborg–Petrozavodsk Offensive, and then joined the offensive along the Baltic coast towards Germany. This third formation compiled an admirable record of service, but was disbanded in 1946.
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 302nd Rifle Division began service as a specialized Red Army mountain rifle division, which saw service in the disastrous operations in the Crimea in early 1942. It was later converted to serve for the balance of the war as a standard rifle division. The division played a leading role in the 51st Army's breakthrough south of Stalingrad in the opening stages of Operation Uranus, and then in the exploitation following this success; however, it was badly battered and routed in the initial stage of the German Operation Winter Storm. After recovering from this, the division continued to turn in a creditable record of service in the southern sectors of the Soviet-German front for the duration, and was especially recognized for its role in the liberation of the city of Ternopol, for which it received that city's name as an honorific.
The 303rd Rifle Division began service as a standard Red Army rifle division shortly after the German invasion, and in its first formation fought in the central part of the Soviet-German front for a few months, taking part in the first offensive success of the Red Army at Yelnya, before being encircled and annihilated in the fighting around Vyasma. A second 303rd was raised a few months later and fought on, mainly in the central sector of Ukraine. The men and women of the division first distinguished themselves during the summer offensive of 1943, making an assault crossing of the Dniepr River at Verkhnodniprovsk and gaining a battle honor for it. A second such honor was won in the spring of 1944 for the division's role in the liberation of the city of Beltsy in Moldova. It ended the war at Prague, after advancing through Romania, Hungary and Austria. The division was disbanded in 1946.
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 146th Rifle Division was formed for the first time as a standard Red Army rifle division in mid-1939, as part of a major build-up of the Army prior to the start of World War II. After the start of the German invasion in 1941 it defended the approaches to Kiev for several months until being surrounded and destroyed in September. A second formation began in January 1942, and the new division spent the following year on a relatively quiet sector before joining the offensives that would drive the German invaders from north-central Russia, Lithuania, and Poland. The 146th ended the war fighting in the streets of Berlin, after compiling an enviable record of service, and saw postwar duty in the Group of Soviet Forces in Germany.
The 422nd Rifle Division was formed for the first time as a standard Red Army rifle division late in 1941, after the Soviet winter counteroffensive had begun, but was soon re-designated. A second formation began in March, 1942, again in the far east of Siberia, until July, after which it was moved west to join the reserves of Stalingrad Front in August. It was the highest-numbered rifle division to see active service in the front lines after the German invasion, Operation Barbarossa. Over the course of the next six months, the division distinguished itself in both defensive and offensive fighting and earned its re-designation as the 81st Guards Rifle Division on the first day of March, 1943. The 422nd was never reformed.
The 321st Rifle Division was formed in September 1941, as a standard Red Army rifle division, based on an existing division of militia. This formation had an extremely short career, coming under devastating attack in the north of the Crimea on the day of its redesignation and being officially disbanded just over a month later. A second division began forming in the Transbaikal in February 1942, and served in the defensive and offensive fighting around Stalingrad, eventually distinguishing itself sufficiently to be redesignated as the 82nd Guards Rifle Division. The world had not seen the last of the 321st, however, as a new division was formed from two existing rifle brigades in the spring of 1944, which gave very creditable service for the duration, completing its combat path in northeastern Germany, and serving into the postwar period.
The 315th Rifle Division was a standard Red Army rifle division formed for the first time on February 12, 1942, in the Siberian Military District before being sent to the vicinity of Stalingrad, where it was engaged in the futile efforts to break through to the besieged city from the north near Kotluban. After rebuilding, it was part of the southern thrust of Operation Uranus in November, helping to encircle the German 6th Army and also to hold off its would-be rescuers. During 1943 and early 1944 the division advanced through the southern Donbas and into Ukraine, where it was honored for its role in the liberation of Melitopol, before taking part in the liberation of the Crimea in April and May 1944. The men and women of the 315th ended their war on an anticlimactic note, serving for the last year as part of the garrison of the Crimea. However, the unit, and its successors, continued to serve well into the postwar era.
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 319th Rifle Division was first formed in December 1941, as a standard Red Army rifle division, in the Moscow Military District, but after a month was redesignated as the 2nd formation of a pre-war division that had been destroyed and disbanded. Another 319th was formed in the summer of 1942 in the North Caucasus Military District while the German offensive was threatening the Soviet oilfields near Baku. This formation had a short and undistinguished career, seeing little combat, and was disbanded in December. A third and final 319th was formed in the autumn of 1943 in the northern part of the front. This unit gave very creditable service for the duration of the war, distinguishing itself in the fighting through the Baltic states, and completing its combat path in East Prussia. It continued to serve briefly into the postwar period.
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 337th Rifle Division was first formed in August 1941, as a standard Red Army rifle division, at Astrakhan. Like the 335th Rifle Division, this formation was assigned to the southern sector of the Soviet-German front during the winter counteroffensive, but was encircled and destroyed during the German spring offensive that formed the Izium Pocket. The division was formed again from July until August 13, 1942, serving in the Caucasus and along the coast of the Black Sea before being moved to the central part of the front to take part in the Soviet counteroffensive following the Battle of Kursk. As the front advanced towards the Dniepr River the 337th was recognized for its role in the liberation of the Ukrainian city of Lubny and was granted its name as an honorific. As the division continued to advance through northern and western Ukraine and into Hungary, it earned further honors before ending its combat path in western Austria.
The 396th Rifle Division was created in 1941 as an infantry division of the Red Army and was activated twice during the Great Patriotic War. The division followed a very similar combat path to that of the 398th Rifle Division in its 1st formation. It was first formed in August in the Transcaucasus Military District. In January 1942 it was moved to the Crimea where it joined first the 47th and then the 44th Armies in Crimean Front. On 8 May it came under attack by the German 11th Army as part of Operation Trappenjagd and by the end of the month it was destroyed in the Kerch peninsula, being officially disbanded on 14 June. In the buildup to the Soviet invasion of Manchuria a new 396th was formed in the Far Eastern Front in early 1945. The new division was one of only three formed in 1945 and served with the 2nd Red Banner Army, crossing the Amur River on 11 August and helping to reduce a Japanese fortified zone while also marching towards central Manchuria. Its rifle regiments were all decorated for their achievements and the division was disbanded before the end of the year.
The 402nd Rifle Division was raised in 1941 as an infantry division of the Red Army, and served throughout the Second World War in that role. It was raised as an Azerbaijani National division in the Transcaucasus Military District and first formed part of the occupation force following the Anglo-Soviet invasion of Iran. It returned to the USSR in April, 1942, remaining in the Caucasus region until the forces of German Army Group A began its drive on the oil fields there as part of Operation Blue. In October it joined the Northern Group in the Transcaucasus Front, in the 44th Army, defending the direct route to Baku. The division took part in the counteroffensive that threw the German forces out of the Caucasus, but took heavy losses in the process. Once the German threat receded the 402nd returned to guard duties along the border with Turkey and served as a training establishment for Azeri recruits 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 May 1945. 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 223rd 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. This first formation had a short and disastrous combat career; after arriving at the front in Ukraine in the first days of August it was immediately encircled and destroyed in the Uman Pocket.
Soviet Union 
Red Army 
