90th Guards Rifle Division

The 90th Guards Rifle Division was a Soviet infantry division of the Second World War.

The division traces its history back to 8 September 1941 when the 325th Rifle Division (I Formation) was formed in the Orel Military District. It took part in the battles around Moscow, both defensive and offensive, then the summer battles in front of Moscow.

On 18 April 1943, it was awarded ‘Guards’ status and re-designated the 90th Guards Rifle Division. The 90th GRD fought in the Battle of Kursk with 6th Guards Army in the summer of 1943, then the offensives into the Baltic region and East Prussia, ending the war along the Baltic coast. On 1 May 1945, it was part of 14th Rifle Corps, immediately subordinate to 2nd Belorussian Front. In May 1945, it was designated as part of the occupation forces for the German portion of Poland.

In the summer of 1946, it was tapped to become one of the new mechanised divisions and was then designated the 26th Guards Mechanised Division. In 1957, it again was re-designated, this time as the 38th Guards Tank Division, which held until 1965 when it went back to the 90th Guards Tank Division. In an exchange of numbers, the 6th Guards Motor Rifle Division in Germany in 1982 became the 90th Guards Tank Division, while the 90th Guards Tank Division became the 6th Guards Motor Rifle Division. This remained until the Division withdrew from Poland in 1992 and was moved to Tver in the Moscow Military District where it became the 166th Guards Motor Rifle Brigade. Later, it was disbanded and converted into the 70th Base for Storage of Weapons & Equipment.