The 216th Rifle Division was a division of the Red Army and Soviet Ground Forces. It was the successor to a motorized division of that same number that was destroyed during the Battle of Uman in August 1941. It fought at Kharkov and in Karelia, Crimea, and Kurland.
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 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 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 408th Rifle Division was formed as an infantry division of the Red Army, and served in that role #in 1941-42. It was officially considered an Armenian National division, but in fact was made up of several other nationalities as well. After forming it remained in service in the Caucasus and Iran until the summer of 1942, when it was redeployed to help counter the German drive toward Tuapse. The 408th had a short and undistinguished career as a combat formation, and was soon disbanded.
The 400th Rifle Division was raised in 1941 as an infantry division of the Red Army, and fought the German invasion - Operation Barbarossa - in 1941-42. The division followed a very similar combat path to that of the 398th Rifle Division through its existence. It was first formed in August in the Transcaucasus Military District. In January, 1942 it was moved to the Crimea where it joined the 47th Army in Crimean Front. On May 8, now in the 51st Army, it came under attack by the German 11th Army as part of Operation Trappenjagd and within weeks it was destroyed in the Kerch peninsula, being officially disbanded on June 14 after one of the briefest careers of any Soviet division. The 400th was never reformed.
The 215th Rifle Division was an infantry division of the Red Army during World War II that continued to serve in the Soviet Army during the early years of the Cold War. It was the successor to a motorized division of that same number that was destroyed during the Battle of Kiev in September 1941.
The 213th Rifle Division was formed as an infantry division of the Red Army during World War II after a motorized division of that same number was destroyed about seven weeks following the start of the German invasion of the Soviet Union.
The 60th Mountain Rifle Division was formed as a specialized infantry division of the Red Army in the spring of 1941, based on the 60th "Caucasian" Rifle Division which traced its origins back to just after the Russian Civil War. At the time of the German invasion on 22 June 1941 it was located in the foothills of the Carpathian Mountains near the border with Hungary as part of the 17th Rifle Corps of 12th Army in the Kiev Special Military District. While the division was not attacked by the main German forces in the first days, its almost total lack of trucks and shortage of horses made it difficult to retreat to the east. It was soon transferred with 17th Corps to the new 18th Army in Southern Front, but returned to 12th Army in mid-July. It fell back through western Ukraine under that headquarters into August when it found itself encircled in the Uman pocket where all but remnants of the division were destroyed. The 60th Mountain was finally officially disbanded on 19 September 1941.
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 63rd Mountain Rifle Division was formed as a specialized infantry division of the Red Army in July 1936, based on the 2nd Georgian Mountain Division. When the German invasion of the Soviet Union began it was in the Transcaucasus Military District and was soon assigned to the 47th Army for the invasion of Iran. Following this it was moved to the western Caucasus region where it joined the 44th Army of Crimean Front for amphibious operations against the Axis forces in the Crimea. In late December 1941 it landed at Feodosia as part of 9th Rifle Corps. Along with the remainder of the Corps the 63rd Mountain hindered but failed to block the retreat of Axis forces from Kerch, where the 51st Army had also made landings. After a German counteroffensive retook Feodosia in mid-January 1942 the division fell back to the Parpach Isthmus where it took part in trench warfare near the Black Sea coast into the spring, gradually losing strength. On May 8 it was caught up in the opening stage of Operation "Bustard Hunt" (Trappenjagd) and in a few hours was overwhelmed and largely destroyed by German air and artillery bombardment in support of infantry and armor attacks. Less than a week later it was stricken from the Red Army's order of battle and was never rebuilt.
The 1941 formation of the 186th Rifle Division was based on the 1st Polar (Polyarnaya) Militia Division that had been formed in the Murmansk area early in September 1941. 1st Polar distinguished itself as part of 14th Army during the last stage of the offensive by Mountain Corps Norway toward Murmansk. As this came to an end the division was reformed as a regular Red Army rifle division and was designated as the 186th despite the existence of another division of the same number at that time. It continued to serve in Karelian Front through 1942 and into mid-1943, seeing little combat on this mostly static front apart from a partly successful offensive near Kestenga as part of 26th Army in April/May 1942. It remained in this Army until it was redesignated as the 2nd formation of the 205th Rifle Division in late June 1943.
The 210th 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 as a cavalry division in the first weeks of the German invasion of the Soviet Union. It served through nearly the remainder of the war on a quiet sector in Transbaikal Front, entirely as part of 36th Army. During July 1945, in the leadup to the Soviet invasion of Manchuria, it was transferred to the 86th Rifle Corps, still in 36th Army. This Army was in the second echelon of the invading forces and saw very little, if any, actual combat, but the division was nevertheless given a battle honor. It was transferred to 17th Army and was disbanded with it by mid-1946.
The 219th 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. Due to a chronic lack of vehicles, and especially tanks, the division had been effectively serving as a motorized rifle brigade since June 22, so the redesignation was a formality and it was soon destroyed in the encirclement battle east of Kiev.
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 228th 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. After being formed in the Kiev Special Military District it soon took part in the fighting in northern Ukraine where it joined the 5th Army north of Kyiv. The presence of this Army in the fastnesses of the eastern Pripyat area influenced German strategy as it appeared to threaten both the left flank of Army Group South and the right flank of Army Group Center. In September the latter Group was turned south to encircle the Soviet forces defending Kyiv and in the process the 228th was cut off and destroyed.
The 192nd Mountain Rifle Division was formed as a specialized infantry division of the Red Army beginning in November 1940, in the Kharkov Military District. When the German invasion of the Soviet Union began it was in the Kiev Special Military District, assigned to 13th Rifle Corps of 12th Army in the foothills of the Carpathian Mountains. It saw little combat in the first week, as it was positioned outside the main German axes of attack, but was soon forced to retreat into the plains, where it began suffering severe losses. By early August, while still under 12th Army, it was trapped in the German encirclement near Uman. All of the 192nd, apart from one regiment, was soon destroyed; it was stricken from the Red Army's order of battle on September 19 and was never rebuilt.
The 190th Rifle Division was an infantry division of the Red Army, originally formed as part of the prewar buildup of forces, based on the shtat of September 13, 1939. It began forming just months before the German invasion in the Kiev Special Military District, where it was soon assigned to the 49th Rifle Corps in the reserves of Southwestern Front. At the start of Operation Barbarossa it was in western Ukraine and quickly came under intense pressure from the 1st Panzer Group which split the Corps apart. Forced to the south and east it was assigned to 6th Army and in early August was encircled and destroyed near Uman.
The 189th Rifle Division was an infantry division of the Red Army, originally formed as part of the prewar buildup of forces, based on the shtat of September 13, 1939. It began forming just months before the German invasion in the Kiev Special Military District, where it was soon assigned to the 55th Rifle Corps in the reserves of Southwestern Front. It soon left this Corps, first coming under direct command of Southern Front, and then joining 17th Rifle Corps in 18th Army. As the retreat continued through western Ukraine in July the 189th was again reassigned, now to the ill-fated 6th Army. In early August it was encircled near Uman and destroyed.
The 187th Rifle Division was an infantry division of the Red Army, originally formed just after the start of the Second World War, based on the shtat of September 13, 1939. It began forming on that same date, in the Kharkov Military District, and while it was officially part of the Active Army when the invasion of Poland began four days later it was not nearly complete enough to take part. At the start of the German invasion it was in reserve in the 45th Rifle Corps, but soon began moving to the front, again joining the Active Army on July 2, 1941. It was initially assigned to 21st Army in Western Front, then moved to 13th Army in the same Front, before returning to the 21st. Part of the division was encircled and destroyed in the hard-fought battle for Mogilev. Late in August the 187th was transferred, with its Army, to Bryansk Front, just days before the 2nd Panzer Group began driving south to encircle Southwestern Front east of Kyiv. The division was directly in the path of this drive, and despite being withdrawn across the Desna River on September 5, it was pocketed by September 16 and largely destroyed within days, although not officially disbanded until November 1.
Soviet Union 
Red Army 