99th Guards Rifle Division

Last updated
14th Guards Airborne Division (23 Dec 1943 – 19 Jan 1944)

99th Guards Rifle Division (19 Jan 1944 – June 1946)

99th Guards Airborne Division (7 June 1946 – 4 May 1956)

Contents

Soviet Guards Order.png
Active1943–1956
Country Soviet Union
Branch Red Army (1943–1946)
Soviet Airborne Troops (1946–1956)
TypeAirborne infantry
Engagements World War II
Decorations Order Kutuzov 2.png   Order of Kutuzov 2nd class
Battle honours Svir
Commanders
Notable
commanders
Ivan Blazhevich

The 99th Guards Rifle Division was a Red Army division of World War II. It was formed from the 14th Guards Airborne Division in January 1944. It fought in the Svir-Petrozavodsk Offensive between June and August 1944. It became the 99th Guards Airborne Division in August but was converted into infantry again in December 1944 and January 1945. The division fought in the Budapest Offensive and in the defense against Operation Spring Awakening. At the end of the war it participated in the Vienna Offensive and the Prague Offensive. In August 1945 it transferred to the Far East and was converted into an airborne division in 1946. The division served in the Far East for the next decade and was disbanded in 1956.

History

The 99th Guards Rifle Division was formed from the 14th Guards Airborne Division on 19 January 1944. The 14th Guards Airborne Division had been formed on 23 December 1943 from the 6th Guards Airborne Brigade, the 13th Guards Airborne Brigade and the 15th Guards Airborne Brigade. [1]

Prior to June 1944, it was stationed in the Moscow Military District, but was transferred to the line of the Svir to fight in the Svir-Petrozavodsk Operation. On 21 June 1944, the division crossed the Svir and breaking through the Finnish defences, seized its objectives. On 25 June, it captured the strongpoint of Kuytezha. During the river crossing, the division supported the 275th Separate Motorized Battalion of Special Forces and the 92nd Independent Tank Regiment, which utilized the T-37A amphibious tank, in the last such use of tanks in the war. On the same day, the division captured the strongholds of Pirkinichi and Semenovschinu. The division advanced to the north to Svirstroy and prevented the Finnish from blowing up a dam.

On 15 July 1944, the division, supported by the 29th Tank Brigade, attacked. After the Finnish troops were partially routed, 460 soldiers from the division were surrounded after advancing too far and killed or captured. On 9 August, the division was put in reserve near Orsha. On 9 August it became the 99th Guards Airborne Division.

From 29 December 1944 to 5 January 1945, the division was reorganised as the 99th Guards Rifle Division in the Belorussian Military District in accordance with Stavka VGK Prikaz 0047 of 18 December 1944. [2]

In January 1945, the division was transferred to Hungary and was positioned southeast of Budapest . On 13 March 1945, it repulsed the German counterattack during Operation Spring Awakening. During the Vienna Offensive, it broke through the German defences north of Székesfehérvár, into the 6th Panzer Army's rear area, penetrating the German line between Lake Velence and Lake Balaton.

On 29 March it fought in the capture of Szombathely. In early April, in conjunction with the 6th Guards Tank Army, it advanced to the Danube, cutting of German escape routes to the west. On 1 April 1945 it was on the outskirts of Wiener Neustadt, on 2 April in Baden bei Wien. The division fought in the Vienna Offensive until 13 April. On 8 May, it captured Znojmo. The division advanced to the Elbe and in May was in the area of Mlaka in Czechoslovakia. In August 1945, the division was transferred to the Transbaikal Military District. [2]

The 99th Guards Rifle Division was disbanded in early June 1946, probably at Manzovka, Primorskiy Krai, in the Soviet Far East, and reorganised as the 99th Guards Airborne Division of the 37th Guards Airborne Corps. [3] In 1953 the 196th Guards Airborne Regiment was formed as part of the division. The 99th Guards Airborne Division was disbanded on 4 May 1956. Its 300th Guards Airborne Regiment and 74th Guards Artillery Regiment transferred to the 98th Guards Airborne Division. [3]

Composition

Related Research Articles

The 289th Rifle Division was an infantry division of the Soviet Union's Red Army, formed twice. The division was first formed in the summer of 1941, after the German invasion of the Soviet Union, and was sent to the front and destroyed in the Battle of Kiev in September. The division was formed a second time in October 1941 from the 5th Rifle Brigade, a separate infantry brigade fighting in the Continuation War against Finnish and German troops in Karelia. The new division spent most of the war in Karelia and in the summer of 1944 fought in the Vyborg–Petrozavodsk Offensive, which resulted in the end of the Continuation War in September. The division was stationed at Belomorsk in Karelia until its disbandment after the end of World War II in July 1946.

The Karelian Front Russian: Карельский фронт) was a front of the Soviet Union's Red Army during World War II, and operated in Karelia.

The 100th Guards Rifle Division was an elite Red Army airborne infantry division during World War II. The division fought in the Vyborg–Petrozavodsk Offensive and the Vienna Offensive. Postwar, it was designated as an airborne division and disbanded in 1955.

7th Army (Soviet Union)

The 7th Army was a Soviet Red Army field army during World War II, primarily against Finland. It was disbanded in 1944.

The 21st Rifle Division was an infantry division of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic and then the Soviet Union's Red Army, active between 1918 and 1945.

103rd Guards Airborne Brigade

The 103rd Guards Airborne Brigade is currently an active airborne brigade of the Belarusian Special Forces. Its predecessor unit was the 103rd Guards Airborne Division, which was a division of the Soviet Airborne Troops. It was established in 1946 and disbanded in 1993, a year after its transfer to the Armed Forces of Belarus. The division was formed from the 103rd Guards Rifle Division, which fought as infantry during the final months of World War II in the Vienna Offensive following its formation in late 1944.

The 46th Army was a Soviet Red Army field army during World War II. The army was formed in August 1941 and guarded the Turkish border. During the summer of 1942, it fought in the Battle of the Caucasus. During the spring of 1943, the army helped capture Maykop and Krasnodar. During the summer of 1943, it fought in the Donbass Strategic Offensive and the Battle of the Dnieper. During early 1944, it fought in the Nikopol–Krivoi Rog Offensive and the Odessa Offensive. During the summer it fought in the Second Jassy–Kishinev Offensive. The army advanced westward and participated in the Battle of Debrecen and Budapest Offensive during the fall. After the fall of Budapest in February 1945, the army fought in the Vienna Offensive and the Prague Offensive. During the summer of 1945 the army moved to the Odessa Military District and was disbanded in September.

The 9th Guards Army was a field army of the Red Army during World War II, which fought in the Vienna Offensive and the Prague Offensive at the end of the war. The army was formed in January 1945 and included airborne divisions converted into infantry. Postwar, the army headquarters became Soviet airborne headquarters.

The 2nd Guards Airborne Division was a division of the Red Army during World War II.

The 6th Guards Airborne Division was a Red Army airborne division that fought as infantry during World War II.

The 32nd Guards Tank Division was a tank formation of the Soviet Army/Soviet Ground Forces. Its predecessor, the 9th Guards Airborne Division, was a Red Army Airborne division of World War II. On 19 June 1945, it became the 116th Guards Rifle Division. In 1946, it became the 14th Guards Mechanized Division. In 1957, it became the 14th Guards Motorized Rifle Division. In 1982, it became the 32nd Guards Tank Division, which was disbanded in June 1989.

The 114th Guards Airborne Division was a Red Army airborne division. It was first formed as the 14th Guards Airborne Division. In December 1944, it was converted to the 114th Guards Rifle Division and became an airborne unit again in June 1946.

The 37th Guards Airborne Corps was a Red Army airborne corps. The corps was established as the 37th Guards Rifle Corps on 19 January 1944. In August, it was converted into an airborne corps. On 18 December, it became an infantry corps again. The corps was converted to an airborne corps on 10 June 1946 and disbanded in June 1956.

The 37th Guards Rifle Division was an infantry division of the Red Army which fought during World War II.

The 114th Rifle Division began service in July, 1939 as a standard Red Army rifle division, as part of the pre-war expansion of the Soviet forces. It was stationed on the Svir River front in the autumn of 1941 and had a relatively uneventful war facing the Finns until the Vyborg–Petrozavodsk Offensive began on June 10, 1944, from which point it saw much more active service. As the Finns were leaving the war the division was transferred to 14th Army in the Arctic, from where it helped to defeat and pursue the German forces from Lapland into Norway.

The 69th Covering Brigade is a unique border protection brigade of the Russian Ground Forces, stationed at Babstovo and part of the 35th Army.

The 268th Rifle Division was an infantry division of the Soviet Union's Red Army during World War II.

The 265th Motor Rifle Division was a motorized infantry division of the Soviet Army during the Cold War.

The 36th Guards Rifle Division was a Guards infantry division of the Red Army during World War II. It was formed from the 9th Airborne Corps in August 1942 as a result of the Soviet need for troops to fight in the Battle of Stalingrad. The division was awarded the honorific Verkhnedneprovsk for its crossing of the Dnieper in September 1943 near that town, later receiving the Order of the Red Banner and the Order of Suvorov, 2nd class, for its actions in the Uman–Botoșani Offensive in March 1944. It fought in the siege of Budapest during late 1944 and early 1945, receiving the Order of Kutuzov, 2nd class, for its actions. In late 1945, it was converted into the 24th Guards Mechanized Division. Stationed in Romania, it was disbanded in early 1947.

References

  1. Pettibone, Charles D. (2009-11-18). The Organization and Order of Battle of Militaries in World War II: Volume V - Book B Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. Trafford Publishing. ISBN   9781426978159.
  2. 1 2 "99-я гвардейская Свирская ордена Кутузова II степени воздушно - десантная дивизия" [99th Guards Svir Order of Kutuzov 2nd class Airborne Division]. samsv.narod.ru (in Russian). Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2015-09-24.
  3. 1 2 Michael Holm, 99th Guards Airborne Division