417th Rifle Division

The 417th Rifle Division was formed as an infantry division of the Red Army in the spring of 1942 and served in that role until after the end of the Great Patriotic War. Although it was formed in the Transcaucasus, unlike the 414th and 416th Rifle Divisions formed in about the same place at the same time it was never designated as a National division. After its formation it remained in service in the Caucasus under direct command of the Transcaucasus Front until the summer of 1942, when it was redeployed first to the Northern Group of Forces in that Front and then to the 9th Army. As German Army Group A retreated from the Caucasus in January, 1943 the division was reassigned to the 58th Army and a few months later to 37th Army in North Caucasus Front. In July it redeployed northward to join Southern Front, where it was assigned to the 63rd Rifle Corps in 44th Army in mid-September as the Front (soon re-designated 4th Ukrainian) fought through south Ukraine, eventually reaching the land routes to the Crimea. It took part in the offensive that liberated that region in April and May, 1944, fighting in the 51st Army and winning a battle honor in the process. After the Crimea was cleared the 51st Army was moved far to the north, joining 1st Baltic Front. During operations in the Baltic states the 417th was awarded both the Order of the Red Banner and the Order of Suvorov. In March, 1945 it joined the Courland Group of Forces on the Baltic coast containing the German forces encircled in northwest Latvia. It ended the war that and was soon disbanded.

Formation
The 417th began forming from March to May 15, 1942, at Tiflis in the Transcaucasus Military District. Its order of battle, based on the first wartime shtat (table of organization and equipment) for rifle divisions, was as follows: The division did not have a commander assigned until May 15 when Maj. Gen. Aleksandr Alekseevich Filatov was appointed to the post; he was replaced on July 23 by Col. Semyon Pavlovich Storozhilov. It remained in the reserves of Transcaucasus Front until August, when it was assigned to the 9th Army in the Northern Group of Forces in the same Front.
 * 1369th Rifle Regiment
 * 1372nd Rifle Regiment
 * 1376th Rifle Regiment
 * 1055th Artillery Regiment
 * 445th Antitank Battalion
 * 223rd Reconnaissance Company
 * 351st Sapper Battalion
 * 922nd Signal Battalion (later 513th Signal Company)
 * 520th Medical/Sanitation Battalion
 * 224th Chemical Protection (Anti-gas) Company
 * 570th Motor Transport Company
 * 481st Field Bakery
 * 585th Divisional Veterinary Hospital
 * 1867th Field Postal Station
 * 1186th Field Office of the State Bank

Battle of the Caucasus
On August 1 the German 1st Panzer Army began a new drive into the Caucasus region. In the face of this the Transcaucasus Front conducted a forced regrouping, concentrating in a new defensive line along the southern bank of the Terek River and along the Urukh River by August 10.In conjunction with this reserves consisting of the 417th and 89th Rifle Divisions, 52nd Tank Brigade, two Guards-Mortar regiments and several other units were brought forward to the area of Grozny and Ordzhonikidze and designated to organize counterattacks on possible routes where the panzers might appear.