Divisional banner of the 50th Guards Rifle Division
This is a list of infantry divisions of the Soviet Union 1917–1957. It lists infantrydivisions in the Soviet Union from the Russian Revolution to the reorganization of the Soviet Army in the aftermath of the Stalinist era. Mechanized Divisions were formed during 1945–46, and then all remaining Rifle Divisions were converted to Motor Rifle Divisions in 1957. During World War II more than 700 Rifle Divisions were raised.[1]
Many infantry (pekhotniye in Russian), literally 'movement', and rifle (strelkoviye in Russian), literally 'sharpshooter', divisions were inherited by the Workers-Peasants Army from the former Imperial Russian Army, but were renamed in the spirit of the Revolutionary times, often with names including words such as "Proletariat", "workers and peasants", or other titles that differentiated them from the past. They employed some of the 48,000 former Tsarist officers and 214,000 Tsarist NCOs along with over 10,000 administrative personnel. Initially the new 'Bolshevik' rifle divisions were composed of rifle brigades, and included:
The division was to have an establishment of 26,972, with 14,220 combat troops, and depended on 10,048 horses to manoeuvre. Due to difficulties with recruiting volunteers into the armed forces early in the Russian Civil War, conscription was introduced on 29 May 1918, and all infantry divisions were renamed into rifle divisions on 11 October 1918.
The first six of the 11 formed divisions were those formed in the Petrograd, Moscow, Orel, Yaroslav, Privolzhsk and Ural okrugs. However, the divisions were initially only numbered, eventually 1st through to 47th by 1919. Five of these divisions were also named.
The Russian Civil War divisions were allocated to the various Fronts, including:
Internal districts (reserve) – 1st to 11th divisions
In Petrograd headquarters command – 1st and 2nd 'Latvian' divisions
In reserve of the Kyiv headquarters command – 'Ukrainian' division
Other Civil War rifle divisions
1st Don Rifle Division — formed and disbanded in 1920 in the Penza-Saratov area of the Southern Front.
1st Communist Rifle division — formed in Tsaritsyn in 1918 and disbanded in 1919, its troops absorbed into the 4th Rifle Division as a brigade.
1st Red-Urals Rifle Division — formed in 1919 by the Eastern Front, and reformed as the Special Brigade of the 1st Revolutionary Army of Labour.
1st Novgorod Infantry Division — former Novgorod Infantry Division, was formed in April and disbanded in September 1918.
1st Orel Infantry Division — formed in the Orel area in April 1918 and disbanded by absorption into Novouzensk and Ural Infantry Divisions during Roslavl operations.
1st Ryazansk Infantry Division — formed in April 1918 from an armed detachment, and transferred to the Moscow okrug commissariat, but disbanded in September 1918 by transfer of its personnel into the 2nd Rifle Division.
1st Vitebsk Rifle Division — Consolidated into the 17th Rifle Division on 23 October 1918.[4]
2nd Rifle Division — Formed at Moscow, in September 1918. Fought at Ufa on the Eastern Front, April–July 1919. Fought against Yudenich with the 7th Army, October–December 1919. Fought in the Polish-Soviet War in the Western Front, May–August 1920, and against Stanisław Bułak-Bałachowicz's forces in October 1920.
2nd Smolensk Rifle Division — Consolidated into the 17th Rifle Division on 23 October 1918.[4]
5th Vitebsk Rifle Division (1918–1926) — Formed in 1918 as 2nd Penza Infantry Division in Penza. Renamed 5th Rifle Division in October 1918. It was awarded the honorific "Saratov" in 1920. The division received the honorific "Vitebsk" in 1921, which replaced the "Saratov" designation.[6]
6th 'Orlovski' Rifle Division (1918–1927) — former Gatchina division, and 3rd Petrograd Infantry division; formed at Oryol area, which was to become part of the Moscow Military District.
17th Rifle Division — Formed on 23 October 1918 from the 1st Vitebsk Rifle Division and 2nd Smolensk Rifle Divisions by the Military council of Smolensk.[4]
26th Rifle Division — Formed on 3 November 1918 on the Eastern Front, ended the Civil War on the Chinese border.[8]
44th Rifle Division — Formed on 22 September 1918 as the 1st Insurgent Division.
51st Rifle Division — Formed in July 1919 from the elements of the Special Northern Detachment, the Special Brigade, and the Vyzama Fortress Brigade.[11]
57th Rifle Division — Formed in July 1919 from elements of the Group of Forces on the Poltava direction. Disbanded in November 1920 after the end of the Polish–Soviet War.[12]
The structure of the divisions (N 220/34) had changed by the end of 1918 to increase the number of regiments in brigades to three, while eliminating the artillery brigade headquarters, leaving the nine artillery divizions (battalions) and one horse artillery battery to be allocated to rifle brigades. An armoured automobile detachment (otryad) was also added.
By 1921 the establishment of the rifle division had changed substantially in accordance with TO&E N 1400/246 for peace-time, with two brigades and only 15,876 personnel, and the reduction of artillery to two battalions and one battery, and the cavalry from four to three squadron regiment.
From 10 June 1922 the organization of rifle divisions war changed from brigade to regiment structure, with three regiments in each. The establishment of divisions stationed in the border areas was reduced to 8,705 personnel, and those in the interior regions to 6,725, including the reduction to a single cavalry squadron. The number of divisions was increased to 49.
Divisions of the interwar years
Due to increasing economic difficulties in the post-war USSR, the armed forces were substantially reduced, and from 8 August 1923 transferred to the territorial system of organisation. All divisions were reduced to an establishment of 1,437 permanent cadre and 8,084 conscripted personnel. These new divisions were initially called militia-rifle divisions (Russian: милиционной-стрелковая дивизия), and later were renamed territorial-militia divisions (Russian: территориально-милиционная дивизия). However, despite reduction in number of service personnel, the number of territorial-militia divisions quadrupled by summer 1928.
The territorial principle of manning the Red Army was introduced in the mid-1920s. In each region able-bodied men were called up for a limited period of active duty in territorial unit, which comprised about half the Army's strength, each year, for five years.[13] The first call-up period was for three months, with one month a year thereafter. A regular cadre provided a stable nucleus. By 1925 this system provided 46 of the 77 infantry divisions and one of the eleven cavalry divisions. The remainder consisted of regular officers and enlisted personnel serving two-year stints.
Most of the divisions that participated in the Russian Civil War were disbanded by 1927, however, Leon Trotsky initiated a formation of the new armed force with a professional cadre which was supported in its evolution even after his departure from Soviet Union. The reform in the rifle forces that begun in 1924 did create some notable changes, including commencement of adding names to the regular and newly formed territorial divisions, and creation of national divisions, notably one Belarusian, four Ukrainian, two Georgian, one Armenian, and one Azerbaijanian divisions. In 1928 1st and 3rd Turkestan, and in 1929 an Azerbaijanian divisions were reorganized as mountain-rifle divisions. Of the 70 rifle division, 41 were now territorial in their establishment.
During the 1930s the RKKA infantry forces were not only expanded, but also substantially reorganized, in part due to substantial input of military theorists into their doctrinal development, such as that of Mikhail Tukhachevsky whose 1934 report to the Defence Committee included 13 categories for divisional organization of the infantry. On 31 January 1935 the Committee decreed adoption of a single 13 thousand personnel peace-time establishment for a rifle division with the following organization:
This structure more than double the number of combat personnel in the division from the 1929 establishment of 20.2% to 41.7%. In May 1937 the military commissars were added to the establishment of all RKKA military forces.
On 29 November 1937 four types of structures for rifle forces were established:
Far Eastern District divisions – 10,000 establishment
Cadre divisions – 7,000 (6950) establishment
Cadre mountain divisions – 4,000 establishment
Cadre territorial divisions – 6,000 (5,220) establishment. These divisions lacked the communications, reconnaissance and sapper battalions.
The territorial system was reorganized, with all remaining formations converted to 'cadre' divisions, in 1937 and 1938,[14] with the cadre divisions retaining one territorial regiment until reorganisation that followed 1938 restructuring of all armed forces. Kamchatka and Sakhalin divisions were also added in the wake of the Soviet–Japanese Border Wars.
By 1938 there were plans to increase the number of rifle divisions in the RKKA (Red Army) from 98 to 173. These would include:
17 rifle divisions with 14 thousand personnel
1 rifle divisions with 12 thousand personnel (TO&E 04/400)
33 rifle divisions with 8,900 personnel (TO&E 04/100)
76 rifle divisions with 6 thousand personnel (TO&E 04/120)
33 rifle divisions with 3 thousand personnel
13 mountain-rifle divisions with 4 thousand personnel
The wartime strength of the new rifle division that was intended to include two artillery regiments was to have 18 thousand personnel, but none had been brought up to this strength by 1941.
Divisions of the Second World War
Two events shaped the evolution of the RKKA rifle divisions during the initial period of the Second World War: the decision in 1938 to reorganise the Army, in part due to and following the repressions of the officer corps in 1937, and the 1939 campaign in Poland, and later war against Finland.
In the course of the Second World War the Soviet Union's Red Army raised over four hundred and fifty numbered rifle divisions (infantry). Usually the rifle divisions were controlled by the higher headquarters of the rifle corps. But scores of these formations were reformed several times; the total number of divisional formations formed may have been as high as 2,000, according to Craig Crofoot.
On 22 June 1941 the Red Army had 103 divisions in the western military districts, of which 70 were organised according to peace-time TO&E 04/100 with 10-thousand bayonet strength (actual number of rifles 7,818), but brought up to the 12-thousand strength (TO&E 04/400), with another six at the 11-thousand strength. Another 78 rifle divisions in the interior military districts were organised according to peace-time TO&E 04/120 6-thousand (5,864) bayonet strength (actual number of rifles 3,685). The wartime organisation of the RKKA rifle division was 14-thousand (14,483) with 10,420 rifles, but only 20 western border divisions had been brought up to this establishment when the war begun.
Zaloga notes that the Red Army formed at least 42 'national' divisions during the Second World War, including four Azeri, five Armenian, and eight Georgian rifle divisions and a large number of cavalry divisions in Central Asia, including five Uzbek cavalry divisions.
Note on Designations
During the war, many divisions were formed, destroyed or otherwise disbanded, and reformed several times: A notional example, using imaginary designations, runs:
"The 501st Rifle Division (1st formation), readiness category B organized to 1937 tables may have been disbanded at Vyazma in 1941, and a new 501st Division (2nd formation), readiness category A organized on 1942 tables formed in Rostov thousands of km away, then renamed 200th Guards Rifle Division in 1944, and a new 501st (3rd formation), readiness category A organized to 1944 tables division formed in Minsk".
Rifle Divisions list
1–10
1st Moscow Proletarian Rifle Division — two formations, 1924 or 1926 (1st formation), and formed again in August 1939 (2nd formation). Became motorized again in January 1940. Division has a complicated history from that point, first becoming the 1st Guards Moscow Motor Rifle Division in September 1941 (see 'Motor Rifle Divisions' below), then the 1st Guards Rifle Division in January 1943 (see 'Guards Rifle Divisions' below), then becoming the 1st Guards Moscow MRD (again) in 1957.
1st Rifle Division — First and second formations were part of the organization that eventually became 1st Guards Rifle Division (see immediately above.) Third and fourth formations were formed mid-1942 and January 1944 respectively. Disbanded in the summer of 1945 with the Group of Soviet Forces in Germany.[15]
28th Mountain Rifle Division— The history of the division dates from the 2nd Consolidated Rifle Division, which took part in the Civil War, and was then renamed the 28th Rifle Division. In the 1930s the 28th Rifle Division was renamed the 28th Highland Mountain Division, which became on 28 September 1936, the 28th Highland Mountain Division 'named for S. Ordzhonikidze' and then on 16 July 1940, the 28th Red Banner Mountain Division named for S. Ordzhonikidze. In the North Caucasus Military District in July 1941. Wiped out during Battle of Kiev, September 1941. Recreated at Archangelsk. Fought at Kiev, Velikiye Luki, and Targul Frumos. With 22nd Army of the RVGK 5.45.
29th Rifle Division — established at Omsk in 1920 as 4th Rifle Division, became 29th Rifle Division that year. As 29th Motorised Division, wiped out near Minsk in July 1941. Recreated July 1941, October 1941, and 1943 (after having become 72nd Guards Rifle Division. With 6th Guards Army of the Kurland Group (Leningrad Front) May 1945. 10th Rifle Brigade 1946, 63rd Mechanised Division 1953, 110th Motor Rifle Division 1957, then 29th Motor Rifle Division in 1964.[22]
46th Rifle Division — Initially established during the Civil War. Wiped out at Yelnaya in July 1941. Recreated at Ufa post-July 1941. Wiped out at Volkhov Pocket June 1942. Recreated from 1st NKVD Division at Vaskelevo. Fought at Lutsk and Danzig. With the 2nd Shock Army of the 2nd Belorussian Front in May 1945.
52nd Rifle Division — Formed in 1935 in the Moscow Military District. Was in the invasion of Poland in 1939 and the Winter War with Finland. Renamed 10 Guards RD December 1941. Recreated Kolomna in January 1942, fought in Ukraine and Hungary. With 53rd Army of the 2nd Ukrainian Front 5.45.
56th Rifle Division — established Pleskau before 1930. Fought vicinity Leningrad and Riga. With 42nd Army of the Kurland Group (Leningrad Front) May 1945.
57th Motor Rifle Division — Ural, Transbaikal MD- 'Ural-Khingan Red Banner' active by 1924 as a territorial division in the Ural MD. Fought at Khalkhin Gol 1938. With 17th Army of the Transbaikal Front 5.45. Fought with 6th Guards Tank Army in Manchuria August 1945. Rifle Division June 1946, became 55th Separate Rifle Regiment January 1947.[17]
59th Rifle Division — established in Primorye 1932 as 1st Kolkhoz Rifle Division, redesignated 59th Rifle Division 1936.[44] With the 1st Red Banner Army in the Far East in May 1945. Fought in Manchurian campaign in August 1945. Disbanded on 30 August 1946.[17]
60th Rifle Division — established at Ovruch before 1941. Disbanded Aug 1941. Recreated from 1st Moscow Militia Rifle Division in August 1941. Fought at Moscow, Kursk, and Warsaw. With 47th Army of the 1st Belorussian Front May 1945.
63rd Mountain Rifle Division — established Tbilisi before 1941, originally as 2nd Georgian Infantry Division.[45] The division was a Georgian national formation with honour titles including 'of the Order of the Red Star Frunze.' Became a rifle division in 1938, disbanded in June 1942 after being wiped out at Kerch. The 63rd Rifle Division was formed in June 1942 from the 8th Motor Rifle Division NKVD, became 52nd Guards Rifle Division November 1942. Recreated at Kaluga from the 45th and 86th Rifle Brigades in May 1943. Fought at Stalingrad, Kursk, and in the Belorussian Offensive. With 5th Army of the RVGK in May 1945.
73rd Rifle Division — established at Omsk in July 1940. Wiped out at Vyazma October 1941. Recreated February 1942 at Ordzhonikidze. Fought near Stalingrad, Kursk, and in the Belorussian and Berlin Operations. With 48th Army of the 3rd Belorussian Front May 1945.
88th Rifle Division — established at Archangelsk before September 1939. Fought in Winter War with Finland, and was in Archangelsk MD on 22 June 1941. Became 23rd Guards Rifle Division in Mar 1942. Recreated at Kisner in Apr 1942. Fought in Belorussia and East Prussia. With the 31st Army of the 1st Ukrainian Front in May 1945. Disbanded in the summer of 1945 with the Central Group of Forces.[21]
89th Rifle Division — established at Kursk before June 1941. Wiped out at Vyazma October 1941. Recreated Yerevan Jan 1942. Armenian national formation. Fought in Ukraine, Crimea, and Pomerania. Postwar in Georgia. Disbanded as 12th Military Base in 2008.
91st Rifle Division — established at Achinsk in Sep 1939. Wiped out at Vyazma Oct 1941. Recreated Mahachkala in Apr 1942. Fought at Stalingrad and Kursk, and in Ukraine, Crimea, and Latvia. With 51st Army of the Kurland Group (Leningrad Front) May 1945.
95th Rifle Division — established at Kotovski in 1940, was with the 9th Army in June 1941. Wiped out at Sevastopol May 1942. Recreated at Tula from units of 13th NKVD Motorized Rifle Division in Sep 1942. Fought at Stalingrad. Became 75th Guards Rifle Division March 1943. Recreated Kaluga Apr 1943. Fought near Kursk and in Belorussia. With 33rd Army of the 1st Belorussian Front May 1945. Disbanded in the summer of 1945 with the Group of Soviet Forces in Germany.[15]
96th Mountain Rifle Division — established Vinnitsa 1923. Converted to rifle division Oct 1941. Recreated Jul 1942. Fought at Stalingrad, in Belorussia, East Prussia, and near Berlin. With 48th Army of the 3rd Belorussian Front May 1945.
98th Rifle Division — established at Ishevsk Feb 1941. Wiped out at Vyazma October 1941. Recreated Spassk October 1941. Fought in Stalingrad. Became 86th Guards Rifle Division Apr 1943. Recreated at Leningrad from 250th Rifle Brigade. Fought vicinity Leningrad. With the 59th Army of the 1st Ukrainian Front in May 1945. Disbanded in the summer of 1945 with the Central Group of Forces.[21]
108th Rifle Division — established at Vyazma in March 1941. Composed of the 407th, 444th, and 539th Rifle and 575th Artillery Regiments.[56] Fought at Minsk, Smolensk, and Yartsevo in 1941. Later fought at Kursk and in Poland and Hungary. With 65th Army of the 2nd Belorussian Front May 1945. Disbanded June 1946 with the Northern Group of Forces.[57]
113th Rifle Division — established at Rylsk in August 1939 and wiped out at Minsk July 1941. Recreated at Moscow from 5th Moscow People's Militia Division in July 1941, fought at Moscow, Vyazma, and Rogan. With 57th Army of the 3rd Ukrainian Front 5.45. Disbanded with the Southern Group of Forces in the summer of 1945.[51]
116th Rifle Division — established at Kremenchuk prior to June 1941 and wiped out at Kiev in September 1941. Recreated at Chita 12.41, fought at Stalingrad, Kharkiv, and Targul Frumos. With 52nd Army of the 1st Ukrainian Front 5.45.
118th Rifle Division — established at Kostroma in June 1941, fought at Pskov and wiped out at Vyazma October 1941. Recreated, became the 85th Guards Rifle Division 4.43. Created again at Novocherkassk 5.43 from the 52nd and 152nd Rifle Brigades, fought near Melitipol and in Poland. With 5th Guards Army of the 1st Ukrainian Front May 1945.
123rd Rifle Division — established at Vishny Volochek in 1939. Fought in Winter War with Finland, and subsequently in northern Russia. With the 67th Army of the Leningrad Front in May 1945.
124th Rifle Division — established at Kirovograd 9.39 and wiped out near Kiev 9.41. Recreated at Voronezh, fought at Stalingrad and became the 50th Guards Rifle Division 11.42. Created again Schlusselberg from the 56th, 102nd, and 138th Rifle Brigades 4.43, fought at Mga, Neman, and in Manchuria. With 39th Army of the RVGK 5.45.
129th Rifle Division — established at Moscow from 2nd Moscow Militia Division Jun 1941. Fought at Smolensk, Yartsevo, and Vyazma; wiped out at Vyazma Oct 1941. Recreated at Moscow Oct 1941. Fought in southern Russia, at Orel, and in Poland and the Baltic regions. With Third Army of the 1st Belorussian Front May 1945.
130th Rifle Division — established at Romny August 1939 and wiped out at Vyazma October 1941. Reactivated at Moscow on basis of 3rd Moscow Communist Rifle Division 22.1.42 and became 53rd Guards Rifle Division 12.42. Activated again from 152nd, 156th, and 159th Rifle Brigades at Matveyev Kurgan 1.43, fought at Taganrog, Brest, and Gumbinnen. With the 28th Army of the 1st Ukrainian Front in May 1945.
132nd Rifle Division — established at Poltava prior to September 1939, fought at Bryansk, Voronezh, on the Dnieper River, in Poland, and at Berlin. With the 47th Army of the 1st Belorussian Front in May 1945.
136th Rifle Division — First formation established at Leninakan prior to 1939. Became 15th Guards Rifle Division February 1942. Second formation recreated from the 8th Separate Rifle Brigade (Hanko Brigade) in Karelia Mar 1942. Fought at Leningrad; became 63rd Guards Rifle Division (30th Guards Rifle Corps) on 19 January 1943.[60] Recreated at Leninakan in February 1943. Fought in Ukraine, at Targul Frumos and Gdynia, and in the Berlin Operation. With 70th Army of the 2nd Belorussian Front May 1945. Disbanded in the summer of 1945 with the Group of Soviet Forces in Germany.[15]
137th Rifle Division — established at Gorki prior to February 1939. Fought on Central Front, at Kursk, and in Belorussia, the Carpathians, northern Poland, and Kurland. With 48th Army of the 3rd Belorussian Front May 1945.
143rd Rifle Division — established at Gomel prior to June 1941. Wiped out at Bryansk October 1941. Recreated at Korosten Dec 1943. Fought at Kovel, Praga, and Warsaw. With 47th Army of the 1st Belorussian Front May 1945.
144th Rifle Division — established at Ivanovo in the autumn of 1939. Fought at Moscow, Smolensk, in Belorussia, at Vilnius and stormed Kaunas 31 Jul 1944. Later fought in East Prussia (Königsberg) and in Manchuria. With Fifth Army of the Stavka RVGK Reserve May 1945.
145th Rifle Division — established at Belgorod prior to June 1941. Fought at Smolensk; wiped out at Roslavl August 1941. Recreated at Balachna Jan 1942. Fought at Chelm and Vitebsk, then in the Baltic lands and Poland.
147th Rifle Division — established at Lubny September 1939. Fought at Kiev and wiped out there Aug 1941. Goff, 1998, says reformed from 426th RD about 28 January 1942. Fought at Stalingrad, in Ukraine, and at Berlin. With 13th Army of the 1st Ukrainian Front May 1945.
149th Rifle Division — established at Ostrogozhsk prior to June 1941. Fought at Smolensk and Yelnya; wiped out at Vyazma October 1941. Recreated at Ryazan around 27 Jan 1942 from the 427th Rifle Division. Fought at Lenino and Volyinskiy. With 3rd Guards Army of the 1st Ukrainian Front 5.45. Disbanded in the summer of 1945 with the Central Group of Forces.[21]
150th Rifle Division — established at Vyazma September 1939. Wiped out at Izyum May 1942. Recreated at Turga Aug 1942. Fought at Schneidemühl, Königsberg, and Berlin. Stormed the Reichstag building in April 1945. With 3rd Shock Army of the 1st Belorussian Front May 1945.
151–160
151st Rifle Division — established at Udshary prior to Jun 1941. Wiped out at Kiev Sep 1941. Recreated at Udshary Oct 1941. Served on Turkish frontier. Fought at Zhmerinka and Stanislav, in the Carpathians and Hungary, and at Budapest. With 26th Army of the 3rd Ukrainian Front 5.45. Disbanded with the Southern Group of Forces in the summer of 1945.[51]
152nd Rifle Division — established at Chita prior to 1939. Fought at Smolensk and Yartsevo; wiped out at Vyazma Oct 1941. Recreated in north Urals Jan 1942 (Goff, 1998, says reformed from 430th RD about 22 January 1942). Fought in Karelia, at Dnipropetrovsk, in East Prussia, and at Berlin. With 28th Army of the 1st Ukrainian Front 5.45.
154th Rifle Division — established at Ulyanovsk prior to Jun 1941. Fought in Bryansk Pocket and Kaluga. Became 47th Guards Rifle Division in Oct 1942. Recreated at Rzhev May 1943. With 2nd Guards Army of the 3rd Belorussian Front May 1945.
155th Rifle Division — established at Opotschka in 1939. Fought in the Winter War and wiped out at Bryansk 10.41. Recreated at Moscow from 4th Moscow Home Guard Rifle Division 1.42, fought at Kalinin, Kursk, in the Carpathians, and at Budapest. With 27th Army of the 3rd Ukrainian Front 5.45. Disbanded with the Southern Group of Forces in the summer of 1945.[51]
156th Rifle Division — established at Staniza-Petrovska prior to Jun 1941. With 9th Rifle Corps of Odesa Military District in June 1941 and fought in Crimea. Disbanded Aug 1942. Recreated from 26th and 162nd Rifle Brigades at Kalinin Apr 1943. With 4th Shock Army of the Kurland Group (Leningrad Front) May 1945.
157th Rifle Division — established at Novocherkassk in 1939. Fought in Crimea and Stalingrad, became the 76th Guards Rifle Division in March 1943. Recreated from 148th Rifle Brigade at Kalinin March 1943, fought at Chernigov and Insterburg. With 5th Army of the RVGK 5.45.
160th Rifle Division — established at Gorki from the 6th Moscow People's Militia Rifle Division Jun 1941. Second formation with same number while first still existed, formed Nov 1941. Fought at Kharkiv and Stalingrad. Became the 89th Guards Rifle Division Apr 1943. Created for third time at Gydnia March 1945. With 70th Army of the 2nd Belorussian Front May 1945. Disbanded in the summer of 1945 with the Group of Soviet Forces in Germany.[15] Disbanded in 1955 in the Transcaucasus Military District by being renumbered 4th Rifle Division.
161–170
161st Rifle Division — formed in 1940, became the 4th Guards Rifle Division on 18 September 1941. Reformed for the second time in April (or June) 1942 from 13th Separate Rifle Brigade in Moscow MD.[62] Fought at Kursk, in the Carpathians, and in Poland. With 1st Guards Army of the 4th Ukrainian Front May 1945. 24th Mechanised Division by 1955, 99th Motor Rifle Division 1957, then became 161st Motor Rifle Division in 1957. After 1990 became Ukrainian 161st Mechanised Brigade.
162nd Rifle Division — began assembly on 1 June 1941 in Kharkov Military District, established at Artemovsk prior to Jun 1941. Wiped out at Vyazma Oct 1941. Recreated at Verchniy Ufalev Jan 1942. Inactivated Jul 1942. Recreated at Tashkent from the Central Asia NKVD Division Oct 1942. Fought near Baranov, in Poland, and in the Berlin Operation. With 70th Army of the 2nd Belorussian Front May 1945. Disbanded in the summer of 1945 with the Group of Soviet Forces in Germany.[15]
163rd Rifle Division — established at Vishny Volochev 7.30, was motorized by 9.39, later reverted to leg infantry. Fought at Suomussalmi (wiped out), Pskov, Demyansk, Kiev, Iasi, Budapest, and Vienna. With 27th Army of the 3rd Ukrainian Front 5.45.
166th Rifle Division — established at Tomsk prior to June 1941. Wiped out Vyazma Oct 1941. Recreated Cherbarkul Jan 1942. Fought at Kursk and in Kurland. With 6th Guards Army of the Kurland Group (Leningrad Front) May 1945.
167th Rifle Division — established at Tula prior to 6.41 and wiped out at Rogachev 8.41. Recreated at Ssucho Lug 2.42, fought near Bryansk, at Kursk, in the Carpathians, and in Hungary. With 1st Guards Army of the 4th Ukrainian Front 5.45.
169th Rifle Division — established at Vinnitsa prior to 1940. Fought at Kiev, Uman, Stalingrad, Orel, and in East Prussia. With 3rd Army of the 1st Belorussian Front May 1945.
170th Rifle Division — established at Sterlitamak prior to Feb 1942. Recreated; fought at Demyansk, Staraya Russa, Kursk, Rechitsa, and in East Prussia and Kurland. With 48th Army of the 3rd Belorussian Front May 1945.
172nd Rifle Division — established at Simferopol prior to 6.41 and wiped at Mogilev 7.41. Recreated from 3rd Crimean Rifle Division in 1941. Fought and destroyed at Sevastopol 7.42. Created again at Moscow 10.42, fought at Pavlograd, Kursk, and Kielce. With 13th Army of the 1st Ukrainian Front 5.45. Stayed with the 13th Army postwar in the Kiev Military District and became the 172nd MRD in 1965. Disbanded by becoming a weapons and equipment storage base in 1990 just before the collapse of the Soviet Union.
173rd Rifle Division — established at Gjassin in 1940 and wiped out at Uman August 1941. Recreated at Moscow from the 21st People's Militia Rifle Division 9.41. Fought at Tula and Stalingrad, became the 77th Guards Rifle Division 1.3.43. Created again at Staritsa from the 150th Rifle Brigade. Fought at Chernigov, Lenino, and Minsk. With 31st Army of the 1st Ukrainian Front 5.45. Disbanded in the summer of 1945 with the Central Group of Forces.[21]
175th Rifle Division — established at Prokladny prior to 6.41, wiped out at Kiev 9.41. Recreated at Tyumen 3.42, fought near Stalingrad and inactivated there 9.42. Recreated again at Sverdlovsk after 10.42, fought at Demyansk and in Belorussia. With 47th Army of the 1st Belorussian Front May 1945.
176th Rifle Division — established at Krivoy Rog in April 1941, with 9th Army in June 1941. Fought at Novorossiysk and became 129th Guards Rifle Division 10.43. Created again at Maselkaya from the 65th and 80th Naval Rifle Brigades 3.44. With 31st Army of the 1st Ukrainian Front 5.45. Disbanded in the summer of 1945 with the Central Group of Forces.[21]
180th Rifle Division — formed 1940 in the Baltic Special MD; became 28th Guards Rifle Division 3 May 1942, recreated at Tscherepowez 6.42, fought at Kiev, Targul Frumos, and Budapest. With 53rd Army of the 2nd Ukrainian Front in May 1945. Briefly 14th Rifle Division in the mid-1950s, assigned directly to Odesa Military District headquarters.[65] Then became 88th Motor Rifle Division 1957, but became 180th Kiev Red Banner Orders of Suvorov and Kutuzov Motor Rifle Division in 1965 and remained under that title until the 1990s, based at Belgorod-Dnestrovsky. After 1992 became Ukrainian 27th Mechanised Brigade.
181–190
181st Rifle Division — established at Gulbene in 1940, from elements of the Latvian Army. Wiped out at Staraya Russa in September 1941. Recreated at Stalingrad, wiped out at Kalach 8.42. Created again at Chelyabinsk from 10th NKVD Division 2.43, fought at Demyansk, Korosten, and in Poland and Germany. With 6th Army of the 1st Ukrainian Front 5.45. Disbanded in the summer of 1945 with the Central Group of Forces.[21]
186th Rifle Division — established at Ufa in 1928. Fought at Leningrad, in Karelia, at Gomel, and in Belorussia and Poland. (The 1st Polar Rifle Division (2 Rifle Regiments+Artillery Regiment) was formed on 12 September 1941. One regiment was called Communist and another was formed from amnestied prisoners who had been convicted for a small stretches. In October 1941 the 290th Rifle Regiment formed from man-of-war's men was joint to it. In Sept. 1941 renamed into 186th Rifle Division. On 26 June 1943 again renamed into 205th Rifle Division (2nd formation)[66]). 186 RD was with 65th Army of the 2nd Belorussian Front May 1945. Disbanded June 1946 with the Northern Group of Forces.[57]
187th Rifle Division — 6,000 men, began assembly on 10 June 1941, Kharkov MD; established Chernigov prior to 6.41 and wiped out at Kiev 9.41. Recreated, with the 1st Red Banner Army of the independent coastal group in the Far East 5.45.
190th Rifle Division — established at Cherkassy prior to 6.41 and wiped out at Rzhev 10.41. With the 25th Army of the independent coastal group in the Far East 5.45.
193rd Rifle Division — established at Korosten May 1941. Wiped out at Kiev September 1941. Recreated at Sorotschinik May 1942. Fought at Stalingrad, and in Belorussia and Poland. With 105th Rifle Corps, 65th Army of the 2nd Belorussian Front May 1945.
196th Rifle Division — established at Dnipropetrovsk Jul 1941. Wiped out at Kiev Sep 1941. Recreated at Kisner Jan 1942. Fought at Stalingrad with 62nd Army. Fought in East Prussia and Kurland. With 67th Army of the Leningrad Front May 1945.
197th Rifle Division — established at Kiev 4.41 and wiped out at Uman 8.41. Recreated at Krasnodar 3.42, fought at Stalingrad and became the 59th Guards Rifle Division 1.43. Again created at Kubyshev 2.43, fought at Bryansk and in Poland. With 3rd Guards Army of the 1st Ukrainian Front 5.45. Disbanded in the summer of 1945 with the Central Group of Forces.[21]
198th Rifle Division — established as a motorized division at Leningrad June 1941. Inactivated Dec 1941 and recreated at Rybinsk post-1941. With the 10th Guards Army of the Kurland Group (Leningrad Front) May 1945.
201st Rifle Division — established Aug 1941 at Gorki. Became 43rd Guards Rifle Division Oct 1942. Recreated from 27th Rifle Brigade at Schlusselburg Nov 1943; with 1st Shock Army of the Kurland Group (Leningrad Front) May 1945.
204th Rifle Division — established at Volkovysk as motorized division in Apr 1941, and with 11th Mechanised Corps, 3rd Army in Jun 1941. Wiped out at Yelna Aug 1941. Recreated at Blagoveshensk Nov 1941. Fought at Stalingrad. Became 78th Guards Rifle Division. Recreated from 37th Rifle Brigade at Nelidovo Jul 1943. Fought at Kursk, in Belorussion Operation and in Kurland. With 51st Army of the Kurland Group (Leningrad Front) May 1945.
205th Rifle Division — established at Khabarovsk prior to Jun 1941. Apparently destroyed or disbanded. Recreated at Murmansk Oct 1941. Wiped out at Stalingrad Oct 1942. Recreated from 1st Polar Rifle Division and 186th Rifle Division Oct 1942. Fought at Danzig. With 19th Army of the 2nd Belorussian Front May 1945.
206th Rifle Division — established at Pavlograd prior to June 1941. Wiped out at Kiev September 1941. Recreated at Buguruslan January 1942. Fought at Stalingrad, Korsun, and Targul Frumos. Nearly wiped out during the Battle of the Korsun-Cherkassy Pocket as it attempted to halt the breakout of Group Stemmermann. With 27th Army of the 3rd Ukrainian Front May 1945.
207th Rifle Division — established at Ivanovo August 1942. Fought and destroyed at Stalingrad, August - October 1942. Recreated at Yelnya from 40th Rifle Brigade in the rear areas of the Soviet Western Front in June 1943. Fought in the Baltic countries and at Berlin. Consisting of 594th, 597th and 598th Rifle Regiments, cleared Kroll Opera House 30 April 1945 while fighting with 3rd Shock Army of the 1st Belorussian Front. From circa 1946 to 1965 numbered the 32nd Division; regained its original number as 207th Motor Rifle Division 1965. Served with Group of Soviet Forces in Germany until the fall of the Soviet Union (with 2nd Guards Tank Army for a long period).
211th Rifle Division — established at Zagorsk prior to 6.41 and wiped out at Vyazma 10.41. Recreated at Novossil 1.42 (Goff, 1998, says reformed from 429th RD about 16 Dec 1941), fought at Voronezh, Kursk, and Chenigov. With 1st Guards Army of the 4th Ukrainian Front 5.45.
212th Rifle Division — established at Cherkassy 6.41. In a report of 13 July 1941, the temporary commander of 15th Mechanised Corps said the division, 'with an almost full complement of Red Army soldiers, completely lacked vehicles for transporting personnel and could not even secure auto-transport for supply of ammunition, foodstuffs, and fuel and lubricants and also for the transportation of weapons.'[70] Fought at Moscow, Kharkov, and Stalingrad. Inactivated at Stalingrad 11.42. Recreated at Ssuschinitschi from the 4th and 125th Rifle Brigades 6.43, fought at Kursk. With 61st Army of the 1st Belorussian Front 5.45. Disbanded in the summer of 1945 with the Group of Soviet Forces in Germany.[15]
213th Rifle Division — established at Vinnitsa 3.41 and wiped out at Uman 8.41. Recreated at Katta Kurgan 1.42, fought at Kursk, Targul Frumos, and in the Vistula-Oder Operation. With 52nd Army of the 1st Ukrainian Front 5.45. Disbanded in the summer of 1945 with the Group of Soviet Forces in Germany.
214th Rifle Division — 6,000 establishment (commenced mobilisation at Luhansk on 10 June 1941, Kharkov MD); established at Vorishilovgrad 4.41 and wiped out at Vyazma 10.41. Recreated at Ufa 1.42, fought at Stalingrad, Voronezh, Kremenchug, Kirovograd, and the Puławy Bridgehead. With 52nd Army of the 1st Ukrainian Front 5.45.
215th Rifle Division — Formed May 1942 from 48th Rifle Brigade, fought at Smolensk and Vilnius. With 5th Army of the RVGK 5.45. Moved to the Far East and fought in the Soviet invasion of Manchuria.
217th Rifle Division — established at Voronezh Jun 1941. Fought at Yelnaya and wiped out in Bryansk Pocket. Recreated Pavlograd Oct 1941. Fought at Kaluga, near Kursk, and in Belorussia, East Prussia, and Kurland. With 48th Army of the 3rd Belorussian Front May 1945.
219th Rifle Division — established as motor rifle division at Kharkiv 4.41 and wiped out at Kiev 9.41. Recreated as rifle division at Kirssanov 5.42, fought near Stalingrad. With 22nd Army of the RVGK 5.45.
220th Rifle Division — established at Vyazma in 1941. Arrived from Orel Military District to join 19th Army, seemingly detached from 23rd Mechanised Corps in early July 1941. A report by 19th Army Chief of Staff, Major General Rubtsov, on 24 July 1941 said that the division was 'hardly formed as a motorised rifle division and had no tanks and vehicles and was understrength in artillery.'[71] Fought at Yelnaya, Vyazma, Rzhev, Grodno, and Minsk. With 31st Army of the 1st Ukrainian Front 5.45. Disbanded in the summer of 1945 with the Central Group of Forces.[21]
221–230
221st Rifle Division — established at Krasnoufimsk March 1942, fought at Stalingrad and inactivated 11.42. Recreated 6.43 from the 79th Rifle Brigade. Fought in East Prussia. With 39th Army of the RVGK 5.45.
224th Rifle Division — established at Suchum around December 1941. With 51st Army on 1 February 1942. Wiped out at Kerch May 1942. Recreated at Onenga Jun 1942. With 23rd Army of the Leningrad Front May 1945.
226th Rifle Division — established at Orochevo 6.41, fought at Kharkov, inactivated 7.42. Recreated at Bugurusslan 9.42 and became 95th Guards Rifle Division 4.5.43. Created again at Lgov 7.43, fought at Kiev and Debica. With 38th Army of the 4th Ukrainian Front 5.45. Disbanded in the summer of 1945 with the Northern Group of Forces.[23]
227th Rifle Division — (began assembly 1 June 1941, Kharkov Military District) established at Slavyansk April 1941, wiped out at Kharkiv in May 1942. Recreated from 19th Rifle and 84th Naval Rifle Brigades in the summer of 1942, fought at Kursk and in the Crimea. With 53rd Army of the 2nd Ukrainian Front May 1945. From autumn in 1945 it was deployed in Krasnoyarsk. In May 1946 it was disbanded by being reformed as 49th Separate Rifle Brigade. Lineage continued by 74th Mechanized Division 1950s, 74th MRD 1957, disbanded 1959.
228th Rifle Division — established at Zhitomir prior to June 1941 and wiped out at Kiev 9.41. Recreated at Kansk 11.41, fought at Stalingrad and in Ukraine. With 53rd Army of the 2nd Ukrainian Front 5.45. Disbanded in the summer of 1945 with the Central Group of Forces.[21]
230th Rifle Division — established at Dnipropetrovsk July 1941. Fought in Uman Pocket Aug 1941. Inactivated Aug 1942. Recreated from 229th Rifle Brigade Jun 1943. Fought at Stalino and Berlin. With 5th Shock Army of the 1st Belorussian Front May 1945.
231–240
231st Rifle Division — established Kungur 1941, near Stalingrad 8.42 and inactivated 11.42. Recreated; with the 1st Red Banner Army of the independent coastal group in the Far East 5.45.
232nd Rifle Division — (began assembly 1 June 1941, Kharkov MD). Established at Chernigov prior to 6.41 and wiped out at Kiev 9.41. Recreated at Biysk 1.42, fought at Voronezh, Kiev, and Iasi. With 40th Army of the 2nd Ukrainian Front 5.45. Disbanded in the summer of 1945 with the Central Group of Forces.[21]
233rd Rifle Division — established at Zvenigorod May 1941 and wiped out at Smolensk September 1941. Recreated at Naro Fominsk 8.42, fought at Stalingrad, Kremenchug, Iasi, and in Hungary. With 26th Army of the 3rd Ukrainian Front 5.45. Disbanded with the Southern Group of Forces in the summer of 1945.[51]
235th Rifle Division — established at Nikopol in May 1941. Wiped out vicinity Luga Sep 1941. Recreated at Novosibirsk Mar 1942. Fought on central part of front, and at Vitebsk and Königsberg. With 43rd Army of the 2nd Belorussian Front May 1945.
240th Rifle Division — established at Kupiansk prior to June 1941 and wiped out at Kiev 9.41. Recreated at Kupyansk 10.41, fought at Kursk, Kiev, Targul Frumos, and in the Carpathians. With 40th Army of the 2nd Ukrainian Front 5.45. Disbanded in the summer of 1945 with the Central Group of Forces.[21]
244th Rifle Division — established at Dimitrov 7.41 and wiped out at Vyazma 10.41. Recreated and merged with 469th Rifle Division at Stalingrad, fought at Zaporozhye. With 37th Army in Bulgaria 5.45.
248th Rifle Division — established at Vyazma Jul 1941; wiped out there Oct 1941. Recreated at Astrakhan May 1942. Fought near Kharkiv May 1942 and wiped out at Izyum May 1942. Recreated at Astrakhan Jul 1942. Fought at Stalingrad, in Ukraine and Pomerania, and at Berlin. With 5th Shock Army of the 1st Belorussian Front May 1945.
253rd Rifle Division — established at Volochansk July 1941, fought at Rostov and Kharkiv before being wiped out at Izyum 5.42. Recreated at Chapyevsk 9.42, fought on the Dnieper River and Kalinkovichi. With 3rd Guards Army of the 1st Ukrainian Front 5.45. Disbanded in the summer of 1945 with the Central Group of Forces.[21]
254th Rifle Division — established at Tula July 1941, fought at Staraya Russa, Demyansk, Kursk, Korsun, Iasi, and Czestochowa. With 52nd Army of the 1st Ukrainian Front 5.45.
255th Rifle Division — established at Pavlograd August 1941, fought in Uman Pocket, inactivated 7.42. Recreated?, with 15th Army of the Far Eastern Front 5.45.
257th Rifle Division — established at Tula July 1941. Fought at Kerch and Velikiye Luki. Became 91st Guards Rifle Division Apr 1943. Recreated at Krimskaya from 9th Rifle, 60th Rifle, and 62nd Naval Rifle Brigades Jun 1943. With the 4th Shock Army of the Kurland Group (Leningrad Front) in May 1945.
258th Rifle Division — established at Orel July 1941, fought at Bryansk, Roslavl, and Tula. Became the 12th Guards Rifle Division 1.42. Recreated; with the 25th Army of the independent coastal group in the Far East 5.45.
259th Rifle Division — established at Serpukhov July 1941, fought at Leningrad and in Ukraine. With 37th Army in Bulgaria 5.45.
260th Rifle Division — established at Kalinin July 1941, fought at Bryansk and destroyed there 10.41. Recreated at Volokolamsk after 10.41. Fought at Moscow, Stalingrad, and in Belorussia and Poland. With 47th Army of the 1st Belorussian Front May 1945.
264th Rifle Division — established at Poltava July 1941 and wiped out at Kiev September 1941. Recreated Svyatogorsk 5.42, became the 48th Guards Rifle Division 10.42. Recreated; with the 35th Army of the independent coastal group in the Far East 5.45.
266th Rifle Division — established at Kaluga as a motor rifle division July 1941. Wiped out at Kiev Sep 1941. Recreated at Stalingrad Jan 1942. Fought at Kharkiv May 1942. Merged with 417th Rifle Division May 1942. Recreated at Kuibyshev Aug 1942. Fought at Stalingrad, in Ukraine, in the Lvov-Sandomir and Iasi-Kishinev operations, and at Berlin. With 5th Shock Army of the 1st Belorussian Front May 1945.
267th Rifle Division — established at Stary Oskol in August 1941. Wiped out at Volchov Jun 1942. Recreated at Serpukhov Sep 1942. Fought in Ukraine, Crimea, and vicinity Riga. With 51st Army of the Kurland Group (Leningrad Front) May 1945. Disbanded while stationed at Tula and Plavsk in the Moscow Military District in February–April 1946, as part of 1st Guards Rifle Corps, the divisional headquarters staff joining the arriving 75th Guards Rifle Division.
268th Rifle Division — established at Mozyr July 1941, fought at Leningrad and Mga. With 22nd Army of the RVGK 5.45.
270th Rifle Division — established at Melitopol July 1941. Wiped out at Izyum May 1942. Recreated Voronezh Oct 1942. Fought at Stalingrad, Kharkiv, and Kursk; with 4th Shock Army of the Kurland Group (Leningrad Front) May 1945. Eventually became 270th Motor Rifle Division and today serves with the Russian Ground Forces in the Far East.
273rd Rifle Division — established at Dnipropetrovsk 8.41 and wiped out there 9.41. Recreated at Podolsk 7.42, fought at Stalingrad and in Belorussia. With 6th Army of the 1st Ukrainian Front 5.45. Disbanded in the summer of 1945 with the Central Group of Forces.[21]
276th Rifle Division — established at Simferopol 3.41 and wiped out at Kerch 5.42. Recreated at Kutaisi 10.42, as Georgian national formation. Fought on the Terek River and in the Carpathians, and gained titles 'Temiryukskaya Red Banner.' With 38th Army of the 4th Ukrainian Front 5.45. Disbanded in the summer of 1945 with the Northern Group of Forces.[23]
277th Rifle Division — established at Dimitriyev 8.41 and wiped out at Korep 9.41. Recreated at Frolov 1.42, fought at Stalingrad, Rosslavl, and Vilnius. With 5th Army of the RVGK 5.45.
278th Rifle Division — established at Livny 8.41 and wiped out at Bryansk 10.41. Recreated near Stalingrad 1.42, fought at Stalingrad and became the 60th Guards Rifle Division 1.43. Recreated?, with 36th Army of the Transbaikal Front 5.45.
279th Rifle Division — established at Dzerzhinsk Jul 1941. Wiped out at Bryansk Oct 1941. Recreated at Balachina Aug 1942. Fought at Zaporozhye, in Ukraine, Crimea, and Kurland. With 51st Army of the Kurland Group (Leningrad Front) May 1945.
280th Rifle Division — established at Tula 7.41, wiped out at Bryansk 10.41, recreated at Voronezh 1.43, fought at Kursk and Korosten. With 13th Army of the 1st Ukrainian Front in May 1945.
288th Rifle Division — established at Yaroslavl July 1941. Fought at Tikhvin, Tartu, and in Kurland. With 42nd Army of the Kurland Group (Leningrad Front) May 1945.
292nd Rifle Division — established Kransogvardeysk 7.41, fought at Volkhov and Stalingrad. Probably inactivated 11.42, recreated?, and with 2nd Rifle Corps of the Transbaikal Front 5.45.
294th Rifle Division — established at Lipetsk Sep 1941. Fought at Tikhvin, Korsun, and Targul Frumos. With 52nd Army of the 1st Ukrainian Front 5.45. Redesignated 24th Rifle Division (3rd formation) on July, 10th, 1945.
295th Rifle Division — established at Chuguyev Sep 1941. Fought at Kiev, in Caucasus Mountains, at Kherson, Nikolayev, and Berlin. With 5th Shock Army of the 1st Belorussian Front May 1945.
298th Rifle Division — established in Moscow Military District 8.41 and wiped out at Bryansk October 1941. Recreated at Barnaul 1.42, fought at Stalingrad and became the 80th Guards Rifle Division 3.43. Recreated 7.43, with 36th Army of the Transbaikal Front 5.45.
299th Rifle Division — established at Belgorod 7.41 and wiped out at Bryansk 10.41. Recreated at Kovrov in 1942, fought at Stalingrad, Kharkiv, and Iasi. With 57th Army of the 3rd Ukrainian Front 5.45. Disbanded with the Southern Group of Forces in the summer of 1945.[51]
300th Rifle Division — likely established in Kharkov Military District July 1941. Fought at Lake Ilmen, Kharkiv, and Stalingrad. Became 86th Guards Rifle Division Apr 1943. Recreated; with the 1st Red Banner Army of the independent coastal group in the Far East 5.45.
301–310
301st Rifle Division — established at Poltava August 1941. Wiped out at Kiev in September 1941. Recreated at Krasnoyarsk March 1942. Fought at Stalino, the Seelow Heights, and in Berlin. With 5th Shock Army of the 1st Belorussian Front May 1945.
303rd Rifle Division — established at Voronezh 7.41 and wiped out at Kiev 9.41. Recreated at Typki 3.42, fought at Voronezh, Kursk, and Iasi. With 7th Guards Army of the 2nd Ukrainian Front 5.45.
304th Rifle Division — established at Solotnoscha 8.41, fought at Kharkiv and Stalingrad, became 67th Guards Rifle Division 1.43. Recreated from 43rd and 256th Rifle Brigades 6.43, fought at Temruk, Zhitomir, and in the Carpathians. With 60th Army of the 4th Ukrainian Front in May 1945. Disbanded in the summer of 1945 with the Northern Group of Forces.[23]
308th Rifle Division — established at Omsk in May 1942 from the teaching staff of the "Omsk rifle school in the name of Frunze". Fought at Barrikady Factory in Stalingrad. Became the 120th Guards Rifle Division in Sep 1943. Recreated as a Latvian national formation as 308th Latvian Rifle Red Banner Division. With 42nd Army of the Kurland Group (Leningrad Front) May 1945.
309th Rifle Division — established at Kursk 7.41, wiped out at Vyazma 10.41. Recreated at Abakan in January 1942, then fought at Kharkiv, Kursk, the Kaniv Bridgehead, Stanislav, and in Poland and Germany. With 6th Army of the 1st Ukrainian Front 5.45. Disbanded in the summer of 1945 with the Central Group of Forces.[21]
315th Rifle Division — established at Barnaul 7.42, fought at Stalingrad, Melitopol, and in the Crimea. With Independent Coastal Army of the RVGK 5.45.
316th Rifle Division — established at Alma Ata July 1941. Became 8th Guards Rifle Division on 18 November 1941, following the actions of the panfilovtsy along the Volokolamsk Highway. Recreated at Vjasniki Jul 1942. Fought near Stalingrad; disbanded Nov 1942. Recreated at Krasnodar from 57th and 131st Rifle Brigades September 1943. Fought at Temruk. With 27th Army of the 3rd Ukrainian Front 5.45.
317th Rifle Division — established at Baku 8.41 and wiped out at Izyum May 1942. Recreated at Makhachkala 8.42, fought at Stalingrad, Kerch, and Uzhgorod. With 53rd Army of the 2nd Ukrainian Front 5.45.
318th Mountain Rifle Division—established at Rostov from the 78th Rifle Brigade 6.42, fought at Tuapse, Krasnodar, Kerch, and in the Carpathians. With 60th Army of the 4th Ukrainian Front 5.45.
319th Rifle Division — established at Makhachkala 8.42. Fought in Caucasus. Disbanded 2.43. Recreated 32nd and 33rd Rifle Brigades at Cholm 10.43. With 43rd Army of the 2nd Belorussian Front 5.45. Disbanded in the Northern Group of Forces during August and September 1946.[23]
320th Rifle Division — established at Crimea 9.41, fought in Crimea and wiped out at Kerch 5.42. Recreated at Leninakan 9.42, fought at Stalingrad, in the Caucasus, and at Yenakiyevo. With 27th Army of the 3rd Ukrainian Front 5.45.
332nd Rifle Division named after Frunze—established at Ivanovo August 1941. One regiment participated on 7 November 1941 Red Square Parade. Fought in Lvov-Sandomir Operation and in Kurland. With 67th Army of the Leningrad Front) May 1945.
333rd Rifle Division — established at Kamychin 8.41, fought at Stalingrad and Zaporizhia. With 37th Army in Bulgaria 5.45.
334th Rifle Division — established at Kazan October 1941. Fought near Orel, Kursk, Vitebsk, and in Kurland. With 2nd Guards Army of the 3rd Belorussian Front May 1945.
335th Rifle Division — established at Stalingrad 9.41, fought near Stalingrad, inactivated 8.42. Recreated; with the 25th Army of the independent coastal group in the Far East 5.45.
337th Rifle Division — established at Astrakhan 9.41, fought in the Caucasus and Kuban, and at Korsun, Debrecen, and Budapest. With 27th Army of the 3rd Ukrainian Front 5.45.
338th Rifle Division — established at Penza 11.41, fought at Vyazma, Lenino, and in Belorussia. With 39th Army of the RVGK 5.45.
342nd Rifle Division — established at Saratov 11.41, fought near Orel and Bolkhov, became 121st Guards Rifle Division September 1943. On 22 November 1944 the 342nd Rifle Division (2nd formation) of 2nd Red Banner Army of the Far-Eastern Front was formed in the environs of Blagoveshchenk, Amur Oblast, on the basis of 258th independent Rifle Brigade and 259th independent Rifle Brigade. With 2nd Red Banner Army of the Far Eastern Front May 1945. Eventually became 33rd Motor Rifle Division.
344th Rifle Division — established October 1941, vicinity Moscow, became (or remnants contributed to the formation of the) 58th Guards Rifle Division in Dec 1942. Later recreated and saw action at Memel in 1945. With 1st Shock Army of the Kurland Group (Leningrad Front) May 1945.
345th Rifle Division — established September 1941 at Makhachkala in the Caucasus. Destroyed near Sevastopol in July 1942. Recreated?, with 2nd Red Banner Army of the Far Eastern Front 5.45.
347th Rifle Division — established September 1941 at Krasnodar. Fought at Melitopol and in the Crimea. With 51st Army of the Kurland Group (Leningrad Front) May 1945.
350th Rifle Division — established at Atkarsk 8.41, fought at Orel, near Stalingrad, at Kharkiv, Zhitomir, the Baranov Bridgehead, and Berlin. With 1st Ukrainian Front 5.45.
353rd Rifle Division — established at Krasnodar 9.41, fought at Rostov, Tuapse, in the Kuban, at Krasnodar and Budapest. With 37th Army in Bulgaria 5.45.
355th Rifle Division — established Kirov 9.41, wiped out at Rzhev 7.42. Recreated in (Kirov oblast), fought in Finland 1944, with 2nd Red Banner Army of the Far Eastern Front 5.45.
360th Rifle Division — established at Chkalov September 1941. Fought at Nevel and in Belorussia and Kurland; with 1st Shock Army of the Kurland Group (Leningrad Front) May 1945.
363rd Rifle Division —12 September 1941 in the city of Kamyshlov of the Sverdlovsk region the 363rd Rifle Division under the command of Colonel K. Sviridov was formed. First, the division was sent to Tutaev in Yaroslavl Oblast to prevent possible circumvention of Moscow by German troops, and later, she participated in the battles of Moscow and Rzhev. For showing courage and fortitude, by Order of the People's Commissar of Defense on 17 March 1942 the division was awarded the honorary title of "Guards" and converted into the 22nd Guards Rifle Division. In July 1942, the division was moved to the Leningrad Front, where it was fighting in the Demianskiy bridgehead until November 1942. After reforming in camps southeast of the town Morshansk and (Tambov Region) as the 2nd Guards Mechanized Corps, the next destination is the Stalingrad area, where the unit as part of the 2nd Guards Army fought against the German (Operation Winter Storm) until February 1943. Recreated; with the 35th Army of the independent coastal group in the Far East 5.45.
364th Rifle Division — established at Omsk Sep 1941. Fought vicinity Leningrad and at the Puławy Bridgehead. With 3rd Shock Army of the 1st Belorussian Front May 1945.
365th Rifle Division — established at Sverdlovsk 10.41, fought at Moscow and wiped out at Rzhev 2.42. Recreated; with the 1st Red Banner Army of the independent coastal group in the Far East 5.45.
366th Rifle Division — established at Tomsk 9.41, fought in far north, became the 19th Guards Rifle Division 17.3.42. Recreated, with the 25th Army of the independent coastal group in the Far East 5.45.
367th Rifle Division — established at Shandansk 8.41, fought in northern Finland and Norway. With 14th Army in northern Norway 5.45.
376th Rifle Division — established at Novosibirsk August 1941. Fought near Leningrad, Kursk, and Riga; with 1st Shock Army of the Kurland Group (Leningrad Front) May 1945.
384th Rifle Division — established at Omsk 8.41, fought near Archangelsk and in the Caucasus. Inactivated 12.42; recreated; with the 25th Army of the independent coastal group in the Far East 5.45. Disbanded 1946 with the 39th Rifle Corps of the 25th Army in the Primorsky Military District.[76]
395th Rifle Division — 6,000 troops establishment at Luhansk, completed its formation at Vorishilovgrad during September 1941, fought at Tuapse, in the Kuban, at Taman, Stanislav and in the Berlin Operation. With 13th Army of the 1st Ukrainian Front 5.45. Disbanded 1946 with the 13th Army's 24th Rifle Corps.[80]
396th Rifle Division — established at Kussary 9.41, wiped out at Kerch 5.42. Recreated March 1945[81] with 2nd Red Banner Army of the Far Eastern Front 5.45. Became 77th Escort Division NKVD, guarding Japanese prisoners of war, on 5 September 1945.[41]
401st Rifle Division — formed on 28 November 1941. First commander Colonel Alexander I. Romanenko. On 5 January 1942 renamed 135th Rifle Division. At this time it was at 70% of personnel, 48% artillery and mortars and 36% motor-transport in establishment. The artillery regiment only had two divizions (not 'divisions'; divizion is a Russian specialist military term for a battalion-sized artillery unit) with six 4-gun batteries. It took eight weeks to form. In some sources these divisions are called "lightened" (V.N. Shunkov, Red Army) and memoirs of a member of the 396th Rifle Regiment from archives of the 135th Rifle Division museum in Kolomna.[83]
402nd Rifle Division — Azeri national formation.[84] Established at Agdam 9.41, fought on the Terek River and in the Caucasus. Involved in capturing Mozdok from German forces in December 1942. However, as of 12 December, after the capture of Mozdok, only 4000 personnel, or less than half the full-time personnel, were left in the division. By decision of the Military Council of the 44th Army it was decided to use the personnel of the division to complete the formation of the 416th Rifle Division. The divisional headquarters were sent to Grozny to rebuild. Since then, the 402nd Rifle Division was in reserve of the Transcaucasian Front, effectively becoming the Azerbaijani national training division. With the Transcaucasus Front May 1945.
407th Rifle Division — established at Akhalkalaki in 1941. Soldat.ru forum information may however indicate that 407 RD was formed three times during World War II never seeing frontline service. First formation was in the Volga Military District, which was renamed as the 141 Rifle Division (II Formation); re-created in the Central Аsian MD (at Semipalatinsk) in April 1942, but without having finished formation, it is disbanded in May 1942. Third formation was at Kutaisi in the Transcaucasus MD in the summer of 1945 on the basis of 94th Rifle Brigade, but was then disbanded in February 1946.[86] It was replaced by the 414th Rifle Division.[87]
408th Rifle Division — established at Yerevan in March 1942 as an Armenian national formation,[88] fought at Tuapse. May have become 408th Rifle Brigade 12.42.
414th Rifle Division — first formed 15.12.41 in the Arkhangelsk region, Kotlas, it was renamed 07.01.42 as 28th Rifle Division (II Formation). Second Formation was as a Georgian national formation, established 28.02.42 in Dagestan АSSR, Buinaksk (or Makhachkala 3.42) fought at Kerch, in the Caucasus, on the Terek River, and at Novorossiysk. With Separate Coastal Army of the RVGK 5.45. By the end of the war the 414th had the name 414th Anapskaya Order of Red Banner (Motor?) Georgian Rifle Division.
416th Rifle Division — First formation formed in the Volga Military District Dec. 1941 and by late January 1942 redesignated 146th RD (II Formation). Second formation ('Taganrogskaya Red Banner, Order of Suvorov Division Azerbaijan') established at Sumgait Mar 1942, and was an Azeri national formation.[91] Fought in Caucasus, at Taganrog, in Ukraine and the Iasi-Kishinev Operation, and at Berlin. With 5th Shock Army of the 1st Belorussian Front May 1945. Became 18th Mechanised Division 1945–6, 18th Motor Rifle in 1957, and the later the 21st Motor Rifle Division.
457th Rifle Division — began forming in the Transbaikal Military District on 8 December 1941. On 13 January 1942 was redesignated as the 116th Rifle Division while still in the Transbaikal.[98]
462nd Rifle Division — began forming in the Central Asian Military District in November 1941. On 1 February 1942 it was redesignated as the 102nd Rifle Division while still in the military district.[98]
468th Rifle Division — began forming in the Stalingrad Military District in December 1941. On 25 December 1941 was redesignated as the 277th Rifle Division (Second Formation).[98]
1st Guards Rifle Division — 2nd formation on 23 January 1943 by renaming 1st Guards Motor Rifle Division. Became a Motor Rifle Division (again) in 1957.
11th Guards Rifle Division (ex 18th Moscow People's Volunteer Division January 1942). Fought at Gorodok, Orsha, Kovno, in Belorussia, East Prussia and Kurland. With 11th Guards Army of the 3rd Belorussian Front May 1945. Disbanded June 1946.[124]
12th Guards Rifle Division (ex 258th Rifle Division 1.42). Used to form 9th Guards Rifle Corps 4.42, second formation of division in 1942. Fought near Bolkov, on the Dnieper River, in Belorussia and Poland, and at Riga and Berlin. With 61st Army of the 1st Belorussian Front May 1945. Disbanded 1946–56.
15th Guards Rifle Division (ex 136th Rifle Division 16.2.42), fought at Kharkiv, Stalngrad, Volchansk, Kursk, Kryvyi Rih, Odesa, and in Poland, the Berlin Operation, and near Prague. With 5th Guards Army of the 1st Ukrainian Front in May 1945. In late 1947 the 15th Guards Rifle Division was relocated from the Austrian city of Vladimir-Volyn and Lyuboml. In the postwar years the unit's soldiers helped civilians rebuild postwar economy, harvest, were involved in the construction of irrigation systems in the Kuban and the Crimea.
26th Guards Rifle Division (ex 93rd Rifle Division 20 April 1942). Fought at Bryansk, Orel, and in Belorussia, East Prussia, and Kurland. With 11th Guards Army of the 3rd Belorussian Front May 1945.
27th Guards Rifle Division (ex 3rd Guards Rifle Brigade 21 May 1942). Fought at Stalingrad, in the Don Basin, at Zaporizhia, Korsun, Odesa, the Sandomir Bridgehead, Poznań, Küstrin, and Berlin. With 8th Guards Army of the 1st Belorussian Front May 1945.
34th Guards Rifle Division (ex 7th Airborne Corps) was formed on 5 December 1941 in the Volga Military District with the 14th, 15th, and 16th Airborne Brigades. The corps remained in the Moscow Military district training until 29 August 1942, when it was reformed and redesignated as the 34th Guards Rifle Division. Fought at Stalingrad, on the Mius River, and in Hungary. With the 4th Guards Army of the 3rd Ukrainian Front in May 1945.
35th Guards Rifle Division (ex 8th Airborne Corps August 1942 at Chaklovsk). Fought at Stalingrad, in the Don Basin, at Pavlograd, Kharkiv, Kryvyi Rih, Nikopol, Odesa, the Magnuszew Bridgehead, Küstrin, and Berlin. With 8th Guards Army of the 1st Belorussian Front in May 1945.
39th Guards Rifle Division (ex 5th Airborne Corps August 1942). Fought at Stalingrad, Zaporizhia, Odesa, the Magnuszew Bridgehead, Poznań, Küstrin, and Berlin. With 8th Guards Army of the 1st Belorussian Front May 1945. 39th Guards MRD in 1957, disbanded 1992.
40th Guards Rifle Division – Formed on the basis of the 6th Airborne Corps in August 1942, fought at Stalingrad, on the Mius River, and at Odesa, Budapest, and Vienna. With 4th Guards Army of the 3rd Ukrainian Front 5.45. Eventual honours Енакиевско- Дунайская краснознаменная, ордена Суворова. Around 1955–7 became 17th Guards Motor Rifle Division in the Carpathian Military District.
43rd Guards Rifle Division (ex 201st Rifle Division October 1942). Fought with Northwestern Front and in Kurland. With 42nd Army of the Kurland Group (Leningrad Front) May 1945.
47th Guards Rifle Division (ex 154th Rifle Division Oct 1942). Fought at Stalingrad, Smolensk, and at the Magnuszew Bridgehead. With Eighth Guards Army of the 1st Belorussian Front May 1945. Eventually became 47th Guards Tank Division in 1965 after a period as a mechanised division. Disbanded by amalgamation in the 1990s.
50th Guards Rifle Division (ex second formation of the 124th Rifle Division 11.42), fought at Stalingrad, Zaporizhia, Nikopol, Gumbinnen, Königsberg, and near Berlin and Prague. With 28th Army of the 1st Ukrainian Front 5.45.
53rd Guards Rifle Division (ex 130th Rifle Division December 1942). Fought on Dnieper River, at Targul Frumos, and in Kurland. With 51st Army of the Kurland Group (Leningrad Front) May 1945.
56th Guards Rifle Division (ex 74th and 91st Brigades January 1943). Fought at Velikiye Luki, Smolensk, Shepetovka, and in Kurland. With the 10th Guards Army of the Kurland Group (Leningrad Front) May 1945.
59th Guards Rifle Division (ex 197th Rifle Division 1.43). Fought at Zaporizhia, Debrecen, Budapest, and Vienna. With 46th Army of the 2nd Ukrainian Front May 1945; became 59th Guards Motor Rifle Division and part of the 14th Guards Army after the end of World War II.
65th Guards Rifle Division (ex 75th and 78th Rifle Brigades April 1943). Fought at Riga and in Kurland. With the 10th Guards Army of the Kurland Group (Leningrad Front) May 1945.
77th Guards Rifle Division (ex second formation of 173rd Rifle Division 1.3.43). Fought at Orel, Chernigov, Kalinkovichi, Kovel, the Puławy Bridgehead, Küstrin, and Berlin. With 69th Army of the 1st Belorussian Front 5.45.
82nd Guards Rifle Division (ex 321st Rifle Division Mar 1943). Fought at Zaporzhye, in Ukraine and the Lvov-Sandomir and Vistula-Oder Operations, and at Poznań and Müncheberg. With 8th Guards Army of the 1st Belorussian Front May 1945.
84th Guards Rifle Division (ex second establishment of the 110th Rifle Division, redesignated on 10 April 1943). Fought at Orel, Vitebsk, Memel, and in East Prussia and Kurland. With 11th Guards Army of the 3rd Belorussian Front May 1945. Disbanded 29 June 1946 at Gusev(?) or Kaliningrad.[133]
92nd Guards Rifle Division — Formed April 1943 from previous Guards Rifle Brigades. Fought at Stalingrad, Kursk, and Iasi. With 37th Army in Bulgaria May 1945. Became 34th Guards Mechanised Division postwar, 34th Guards Motor Rifle Division 1957, and 92nd Guards Motor Rifle Division 1965.[134]
93rd Guards Rifle Division — established at Valuki 4.43 from 13th Guards and 92nd Rifle Brigades, fought at Kursk, Kharkiv, Budapest, and Prague. With 53rd Army of the 2nd Ukrainian Front 5.45.
94th Guards Rifle Division — established at Novy Oskol Apr 1943 from 14th Guards and 96th Rifle Brigades. Fought at Kursk, Belgorod, Kirovograd, Küstrin, and Berlin. With 5th Shock Army of the 1st Belorussian Front May 1945.
95th Guards Rifle Division (ex 226th Rifle Division 4.5.43), fought at Kursk, Belgorod, Poltava, Kremenchug, on the Dnieper River, at the Sandomir Bridgehead and Breslau, and in the Berlin and Prague Operations. with 5th Guards Army of the 1st Ukrainian Front May 1945.
96th Guards Rifle Division (ex second formation of the 258th Rifle Division 4.5.43), fought at Melitopol, Nikopol, in Belorussia, East Prussia, near Berlin, and in Czechoslovakia. With 28th Army of the 1st Ukrainian Front 5.45.
107th Guards Rifle Division (formed on basis of 8th Guards Airborne Division 12.44), fought at Budapest and Vienna, and in Czechoslovakia. With 9th Guards Army of the 3rd Ukrainian Front 5.45. Redesignated 107th Guards Airborne Division on 7.6.46 at Chernigov, Chernigov Oblast.[135] 107th Guards Airborne Division was disbanded, still at Chernigov, in 1959.
110th Guards Rifle Division — established at Voronezh 7.43 from the 5th and 7th Guards Rifle Brigades, fought at Aleksandriya, Iasi, and in Czechoslovakia and Manchuria. With 53rd Army of the 2nd Ukrainian Front 5.45.
116th Guards Rifle Division — (from 9th Guards Airborne Division) Initially formed in Kiev Military District (MD) as 1st Airborne Corps and converted to an airborne division at Liubertsy, Moscow Military District, 1942.[136][139] After conversion to the 9th Guards Airborne Division (1942) the division was redesignated successively as the 116th Guards Rifle Division, 14th Guards Mechanized Division (with the 47th, 48th, and 49th Guards Mechanised Regiments),[140] 14th Guards Motor Rifle Division and finally the 32nd Guards Tank Division. Fought at Kursk, Pokava, Kiemenchug, the battle for the Dnepr crossings, Kirovograd, the Sandomir bridgehead, and Prague. Postwar assignment to 3rd Guards Mechanised Army in the 1940s and 1950s. Withdrawn from Group of Soviet Forces, Germany (now designated Western Group of Forces) 20th Guards Army. Honorifics and Awards included Полтавская краснознаменная, орденов Суворова, Кутузова. "Poltava" (located in Kiev MD), Orders of Red Banner, Suvorov and Kutuzov.
118th Guards Rifle Division — (formed from 7th Rifle Division on 28.06.1945 under the provisions of NKO Order No. 0126). Brigade 1946, upgraded to a division 1950. Disbanded in 1956.
People's Militia divisions, listed in the order of creation, were hastily created in mid-1941 as the German advance neared Leningrad. In Russian, they were designated дивизия народного ополчения – Narodnoe Opolcheniye Division – or гвардейская дивизия народного ополчения – Guards Narodnoe Opolcheniye Division. On 23 September 1941 all the divisions of the Leningrad Narodnoe Opolcheniye Army divisions were used to form Red Army units mostly within the Leningrad Front.
1st (Kirov) People's Militia Division, named for the Kirovsky District (commander Kombrig V.A. Malinnikov) By 15 August, this division had joined the retreating 70th and 237th Rifle Divisions and engaged in the fighting on approaches to Novgorod. On 3 September its 3rd regiment was transferred to the command of the 291st Rifle Division, and replaced by the 76th Latvian Separate Rifle regiment on 14 September.
2nd (Moscow) People's Militia Division named for the Moskovsky District (commander (to July, Colonel N.S. Ugrumov)
3rd (Frunze) Division of People's Militia named for the Frunzensky District (Фрунзенский район) (commander (Colonel А.P. Netreba, from 16 August Z.N. Alekseyev) which from September was receiving volunteers from the Altai and Siberia.
1st Guards Division of People's Militia (18 July 1941) (commander Colonel I.M. Frolov) (deployed next to the 237th Rifle Division) formed in the Kuybishev District
2nd Guards People's Militia Division (18 July 1941) (commander Colonel Sholev, later Colonel V.A. Trubachev) formed in the Sverdlovsk District. Fought with 42nd Army. Redesignated as 85th Rifle Division in Sept 1941.
4th (Dzerzhinsky) Light Division of People's Militia (19 July 1941) named for the Dzerzhinsky District (commander Colonel P.I Radigin) (1st regiment detached on 22 July to the 191st Rifle Division in Narva. This was a "light" division initially formed in the Krasnogvardeysky District, with only 4,257 personnel, but almost entirely motorised, and admitting only volunteers with prior combat experience. The division was allowed a period of extended combat training.
3rd Guards People's Militia Division (24 July 1941) (commander Colonel V.P. Kotelnikov) which later fought with the 402nd Red Banner rifle regiment (commander Colonel Ya.S. Yermakov) of the 168th Rifle Division (commander Colonel A.L. Bondarev) formed in the Petrograd Military District. fought with the 42nd Army. Redesignated as 44th Rifle Division in Sept 1941.
4th Guards People's Militia Division (27 July 1941) formed in the Kalinin District was never fully formed and on 13 August transferred to Army reserve, its personnel used to complete units of other divisions. However, its three rifle regiments continued to participate in combat under command of other divisions, and the staff of the division was retained, and used to conduct induction training and formation, as well as command of replacement militia battalions.
5th (Kuybishevskaya) People's Militia Division (1 September 1941) (commander Colonel F.P. Utkin) formed early September 1941 from the former 4th division and on 10 September moved to Pulkovo.
6th Division of People's Militia – formed 1 September 1941
7th Division of People's Militia (commander Colonel I.S. Kuznetsov) raised on 17 September 1941 it was re-designated on 30 September as the 56th Rifle Division.
Moscow People's Militia Divisions
Although 25 Narodnoe Opolcheniye divisions were intended for formation, only 16 were formed due to demand for workers in building the fortifications for the defence of Moscow. By 7 July 1941 140,000 volunteers had been accepted into the Moscow People's Militia, and organised into 12 divisions (of establishment (shtat) 11,633) named according to the city rayons. However, on 20 September 1941 they were redesignated as regular rifle divisions (numbers in brackets):
1st Lenin Raion People's Militia Division (60th Rifle Division (2)) First division of Narodnoe Opolcheniye (Первая дивизия народного ополчения) in Russian.[143]
These divisions were allocated to the Mozhaisk Defence Line Front (commander General P.A. Artemyev) which consisted of the 32nd Army (General N.K. Klykov) in Vyazma, 33rd Army (Kombrig D.P. Onuprienko) in Spas-Demensk and 34th Army (General N.I. Pronin), and also included five NKVD divisions (one each in the 32nd and 34th Armies, and three in the 33rd Army).
A Rostov-on-Don People's Militia Cavalry Division later became the 116th Cavalry Division, and later still the 12th Guards Cavalry Division. It was incorporated into a separate People's Militia rifle regiment raised at the same time. The division initially enlisted Don Cossack population of the region.
The Stalingrad People's Militia corps included cavalry and infantry People's Militia Divisions, and a tank brigade donated and crewed by the local factory workers.
Although 15,000 personnel joined the Sevastopol People's Militia, these were organised into a corps of four, later three brigades.
Krasnodar Krai, Kirovsk Krai, Voronezh Krai, and Yaroslav Krai formed a People's Militia division each.
↑ Bonn, 2005, says that 82nd Motorised Rifle Division was originally formed in Perm region as 82nd Self-Propelled Gun Division, converted to 82 MRD 1941. Bonn, Slaughterhouse, Aberjona Press, 2005, p.350
↑ 'A Short description of 15th Mechanised Corps combat operations during the period from 22.6.41 through 12.7.41,' SBDVOV, issue 36, 253, via Glantz, Stumbling Colossus, 136.
↑ David Glantz, Stumbling Colossus, 208, drawing on SBDVOV, issue 37, 226.
A front is a type of military formation that originated in the Russian Empire, and has been used by the Polish Army, the Red Army, the Soviet Army, and Turkey. It is roughly equivalent to an army group in the military of most other countries. It varies in size but in general contains three to five armies. It should not be confused with the more general usage of military front, describing a geographic area in wartime.
The 1st Ukrainian Front, previously the Voronezh Front, was a major formation of the Red Army during World War II, being equivalent to a Western army group. They took part in the capture of Berlin, the capital of Nazi Germany.
A tank corps was a type of Soviet armoured formation used during World War II.
The 5th Rifle Division was an infantry division of the Soviet Union's Red Army, formed twice. The division was formed in 1918, initially as the 2nd Penza Infantry Division. After becoming the 5th Rifle Division a month later, it fought in the Counteroffensive of Eastern Front in spring 1919 and later operations in Siberia. In the spring of 1920, the division was relocated west and fought in the Polish–Soviet War, participating in the Battle of Warsaw. The division was awarded the Honorary Revolutionary Red Banner for its actions during the wars in 1929. In September 1939, it fought in the Soviet invasion of Poland and was then sent to Lithuania under the Soviet–Lithuanian Mutual Assistance Treaty. After Operation Barbarossa, the division fought in the Baltic Operation and the Leningrad Strategic Defensive. During the winter of 1941-1942, it participated in the Battle of Moscow, fighting in the Kalinin (Tver) area. During the summer of 1942, the division fought in the Rzhev-Vyazma Offensive and became the 44th Guards Rifle Division for its actions there on 5 October.
A rifle corps was a Soviet corps-level military formation during the mid-twentieth century. Rifle corps were made up of a varying number of rifle divisions, although the allocation of three rifle divisions to a rifle corps was common during the latter part of World War II.
The 99th Rifle Division was an infantry division of the Soviet Union's Red Army which fought in World War II. It was first formed in 1924, destroyed, reformed and raised to Guards status, and then reformed once again.
The 139th Rifle Division was an infantry division of the Red Army, formed three times during World War II, in 1939 and twice in 1941.
The 3rd Guards Volnovakha Red Banner Order of Suvorov Motor Rifle Division was a division of the Soviet Army from 1957 to around 1992. It traced its history from the highly decorated 3rd Guards Rifle Division of World War II. The 3rd Guards Rifle Division was formed from the 153rd Rifle Division.
The 12th Guards Uman Orders of Lenin Red Banner and Suvorov Tank Division was a tank division of the Soviet Ground Forces. It drew its history from the World War II 16th Tank Corps. It was redesignated successively as 12th Guards Tank Corps (1943) and 12th Guards Tank Division (1946).
The 316th Rifle Division was formed as a Red Army division during World War II. The division was initially formed in July 1941, renamed the 8th Guards Rifle Division on 18 November 1941. The division was recreated at Vjasniki in July 1942, fought in the early battles around Stalingrad and was disbanded in November 1942. The division was recreated for the third time from the 57th and 131st Rifle Brigades in September 1943. The division ended the war assigned to the 27th Army of the 3rd Ukrainian Front.
The 48th Army was a field army of the Soviet Red Army, active from 1941 to 1945. The army was first formed in August 1941 and fought in the Leningrad Strategic Defensive Operation. The army suffered heavy losses and was disbanded in early September. Its remnants were moved to the 54th Army. Reformed in April 1942 on the Bryansk Front, the army fought in the Maloarkhangelsk Offensive in the winter of 1943. It was sent to the Central Front in March and defended the northern face of the Kursk Bulge. During the summer, it fought in Operation Kutuzov and the Chernigov-Pripyat Offensive. From November, the army fought in the Gomel-Rechitsa Offensive. The army fought in Operation Bagration from June 1944. During the offensive, the army captured Zhlobin and Bobruisk and was on the Narew by early September. During early 1945, the army fought in the East Prussian Offensive and ended the war in East Prussia during May. The army was transferred to Poland in July 1945 and its headquarters was used to form the Kazan Military District in September.
The 46th Rifle Division was a rifle division of the Red Army.
The 29th Rifle Division was an infantry division of the Red Army and later the Soviet Army.
The 41st Rifle Division was an infantry division of the Soviet Union's Red Army during World War II.
The Red Army's 60th Army was a Soviet field army during the Second World War. It was first formed in reserve in the Moscow Military District in October 1941, but soon was disbanded. It was formed a second time in July 1942, and continued in service until postwar. The 60th Army was commanded by Gen. Ivan Danilovich Chernyakhovsky for much of the war, and it was while in this command that he proved himself worthy to be promoted to the rank of General of the Army and command of a Front at the age of 38 years. Elements of the army went on to, among other things, liberate the Auschwitz concentration camp.
The 38th Rifle Division was an infantry division of the Soviet Union's Red Army during World War II.
Alexey Grigoryevich Rodin was a Soviet Army colonel general and Hero of the Soviet Union.
The 397th Rifle Division was an infantry division of the Red Army, active twice during 1941-45, fighting the German Operation Barbarossa.
Iosif Ivanovich Popov was a Soviet Army major general who held corps command during World War II.
Feskov, V.I.; Golikov, V.I.; Kalashnikov, K.A.; Slugin, S.A. (2013). Вооруженные силы СССР после Второй Мировой войны: от Красной Армии к Советской[The Armed Forces of the USSR after World War II: From the Red Army to the Soviet: Part 1 Land Forces] (in Russian). Tomsk: Scientific and Technical Literature Publishing. ISBN9785895035306.
Goff, James F. (December 1998). "The mysterious high-numbered Red Army rifle divisions". Journal of Slavic Military Studies. Vol.11, no.4. pp.195–202.–viaTaylor & Francis(subscription required)
Glantz, David M. (2005). Companion to Colossus Reborn. Lawrence: University of Kansas Press. ISBN0-7006-1359-5.
Lenskii, Andrei G. (2000). Сухопутные силы РККА в предвоенные годы. Справочник[The Red Army in the Prewar Years: Handbook] (in Russian). Saint Petersburg: B&K.
Lensky, A. G.; Tsybin, M. M. (2003). Первая сотня. Стрелковые, горнострелковые, мотострелковые, моторизованные дивизии РККА группы номеров 1-100 (1920-е - 1945 гг). Справочник[The First Hundred: Rifle, Mountain Rifle, Motor Rifle, and Motorized Divisions of the Red Army numbered 1-100 (1920s–1945): Handbook] (in Russian). St. Petersburg: Kompleks. ISBN5-98278-003-0.
Poirier, Robert G; Conner, Albert Z. (1985). The Red Army Order of Battle in the Great Patriotic War. Novato: Presidio Press. ISBN0-89141-237-9. Poirier and Conner primarily used the wartime files of the German Foreign Armies East ('FHO') intelligence section, of which substantial sections are now held by the U.S. National Archives.
Seaton, Albert; Seaton, Joan (1986). The Soviet Army 1918 to the present. New York: New American Library. ISBN0-453-00551-9.
Velikanov, N. T.; etal. (1980). Ордена Ленина Забайкальский. История ордена Ленина Забайкальского военного округа (in Russian). Moscow: Voenizdat. OCLC7469134.
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