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Музей истории донецкой милиции 086

Divisional banner of the 50th Guards Rifle Division

This is a list of infantry divisions of the Soviet Union 1917–1957. It lists infantry divisions in the Soviet Union from the 1917 Revolution to the reorganisation of the Soviet Army in the aftermath of the Stalinist era. Mechanised Divisions were formed during 1945–46, and then all remaining Rifle Divisions were converted to Motor Rifle Divisions in 1957.

The main source used in the compilation of this page was Robert G. Poirier and Albert Z. Conner's The Red Army Order of Battle in the Great Patriotic War, published by Novato: Presidio Press, in 1985. Most of the details not specifically cited in this page are sourced from Poirer and Connor. Thus this page represents primarily pre-1989, Western scholarship; however new materials available since 1989, primarily A.G. Lenski's 2000 book, have also been inserted where available.

Divisions of the Russian Civil War[]

Many infantry (pekhotniye), literally 'movement', and rifle (strelkoviye), 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:

two or three brigades of two regiments each[1]
an artillery brigade
a cavalry regiment
a communications battalion
a reconnaissance company
an engineer battalion
an air (balloon) detachment (otryad)
an aviation group (aircraft)
rear services

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 the 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 okrugs (reserve) - 1st to 11th divisions
  • Northern Front - 18th and 19th divisions
  • Eastern Front - 20th to 22nd, and 24th to 31st divisions
  • Caspian-Caucasus Front - 32nd to 36th divisions
  • Southern Front - 12th to 16th, 23rd, and 37th to 42nd divisions
  • Western Front - 17th, 'Lithuanian', and Western Rifle Divisions
  • In Petrograd headquarters command - 1st and 2nd 'Latvian' divisions
  • In reserve of the Kiev 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 Infantry Division.
  • 1st "Simbirsk" Rifle Division formed 1918, redesignated 24th Rifle Division in 1922.
  • 1st Petrograd Infantry Division—Formed at Petrograd, May 1918. Elements of the division were sent to the Eastern Front
  • 1st Rifle Division (1918–1920) - Formed in the lakes region around Petrograd. Fought around Olonets with the 6th and 7th Armies from November 1918 into 1920. Defended the Aleksandrovsk-Melitopol railroad line on the Southern Front in August 1920. Awarded the Order of the Red Banner in October 1920. Reorganized as a brigade of the 15th Inzensk Rifle Division in November 1920.
  • 1st Vitebsk Rifle Division - Consolidated into the 17th Rifle Division on 23 Oct 1918.[2]
  • 2nd Rifle Division — Formed at Moscow, 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 Oct 1918.[2]
  • 2nd Tula Rifle Division
  • 5th Vitebsk Rifle Division (1918–1926) - former 2nd Penza pekhotnaya division, and 5th Saratov rifle division, first formed 1918 at Kurgan.[citation needed]
  • 6th 'Orlovski' Rifle Division (1918–1927) - former Gatchina division, and 3rd Petrograd pekhotnaya division; formed at Oryol area, which was to become part of the Moscow Military District.
  • 16th Rifle Division - The Division was formed in May 1918 in the Tambov region from Ukrainian detachments of the Red Guards.[2]
  • 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.[2]
  • 26th Rifle Division - Formed 3 Nov 1919 on the Eastern Front, ended the Civil War on the Chinese border.[3]
  • 44th Rifle Division
  • 51st Rifle Division - Formed in July 1919 from elements of the Special Northern Detachment, the Special Brigade, and the Vyza'ma Fortress Brigade.[4]
  • Trans-Dnepr Rifle Division—Formed from partisan units of the Ukrainian Front, February 1919. Fought at Mariupol, Odessa, and Sevastopol, March–April 1919. Divided into the Crimean Red Army, 6th Ukrainian Rifle Division and 7th Insurgent Rifle Division, May 1919.
  • 7th Insurgent Rifle Division—Formed from the 3rd Brigade of the Trans-Dnepr Rifle Division, May 1919. Fought in the Donbass, May 1919. Left the RKKA and became the core of the RIAU, August 1919.

The establishment and organisation 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 auto detachment (otryad) was also instituted. 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 organisation 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.[5] 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 Belarus, four Ukrainian, two Georgian, one Armenian, and one Azerbaijanian divisions. In 1928 1st and 3rd Turkestan, and in 1929 an Azerbaijanian divisions were reorganised 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 reorganised, in part due to substantial input of military theorists into their doctrinal development, such as that of Mikhail Tukhachevsky who's 1934 report to the Defence Committee included 13 types of infantry division divisions. On the 31 January 1935 the Committee decreed adoption of a single 13 thousand personnel peace-time establishment for a rifle division which included:

three rifle regiments
one artillery regiment:
one tank battalion (mixed)
separate reconnaissance battalion (light tank company, cavalry squadron and SP artillery battery)
communications battalion
separate anti-aircraft machine-gun company
sapper company
aviation flight
rear services

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 lacked the communications, reconnaissance and sapper battalions.

The territorial system was reorganised, with all remaining formations converted to 'cadre' divisions, in 1937 and 1938,[6] 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 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 8.9 thousand 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 war 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 organised to 1937 tables may have been disbanded at Vyazma in 1941, and a new 501st Division (2nd formation), readiness category A organised 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 organised to 1944 tables division formed in Minsk".

Rifle Divisions list[]

1 - 10 Divisions[]

  • 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 MRD 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 organisation that eventually became 1st Guards Rifle Division (see immediately above.) Third and fourth formations were formed mid-1942 and January 1944 respectively.
  • 2nd Rifle Division (1st formation) - With 50th Army of the 3rd Belorussian Front May 1945.
  • 3rd Rifle Division—with 2nd Red Banner Army of the Far Eastern Front 5.45.
  • 4th Rifle Division—with 69th Army of the 1st Belorussian Front 5.45.
  • 5th Vitebsk Rifle Division (1938–1940; 1st formation) - Western Military District, Baltic Special Military District. Took part in Soviet invasion of Eastern Poland 1939 with Third Army.
  • 5th Vitebsk Rifle Division (1941–1947; 2nd formation) Fought at Demyansk. Renamed 44th Guards Rifle Division Oct 5, 1942.
  • 5th Rifle Division (3rd formation) - Reformed at Yefremov Oct 1942. Fought at Oryol and in East Prussia. With 3rd Army of the 1st Belorussian Front May 1945.
  • 6th Rifle Division First formation 1938. Second formation 1939; With 28th Rifle Corps of Fourth Army, Soviet Western Front, from June 1941. Fought at Ochkino, near Stalingrad, at Oryol and Yasy. With 1st Guards Cavalry-Mechanized Group of the 2nd Ukrainian Front May 1945.
  • 7th Motor Rifle Division—First formed Sept 1918 at Vladimir in the Moscow Military District. Apparently formed five times in total, last in 1955 by renumbering 407 RD.
  • 8th Rifle Division- formed 1918, 1941, 1941 again (as Third Formation), 1955.
  • 9th Mountain Rifle Division—formed May (Bonn, 2005) or September 1918, as the Kursk Infantry Division. Became 9th Motor Rifle Division around 1957.
  • 10th Rifle Division — existed 1920. Fought around Leningrad. Disbanded summer 1945.

11 - 20 Divisions[]

21 - 30 Divisions[]

31 - 40 Divisions[]

41 - 50 Divisions[]

51 - 60 Divisions[]

61 - 70 Divisions[]

  • 61st Rifle Division — established at Balschov before 1933. Fought in southern Russia, Ukraine, Belorussia, and the Berlin Operation. With 28th Army of the 1st Ukrainian Front 5.45.
  • 62nd Rifle Division — established Fastov in Sep 1939. With 15th Rifle Corps of 5th Army 22 June 1941. Disbanded Nov 1942. Recreated Apr 1943. Fought at Stalingrad and Kursk. With 31st Army of the 1st Ukrainian Front 5.45.
  • 63rd Mountain Rifle Division — established Tblisi before 1941, originally as 2nd Georgian Infantry Division.[13] The Division was a Georgian national formation with honour titles including 'of the Order of the Red Star Frunze.' Became 52nd Guards Rifle Division in Nov 1942. Recreated at Kaluga from the 45th and 86th Rifle Brigades May 1943. Fought at Stalingrad, Kursk, and in the Belorussian Operation. With 5th Army of the RVGK 5.45.
  • 64th Rifle Division — established Smolensk before Feb 1939. Became 7th Guards Rifle Division Sep 1941. Recreated Mar 1942. Mutinied near Stalingrad Aug 1942. Fought at Minsk and Stalingrad. With 3rd Shock Army of the 1st Belorussian Front May 1945.
  • 65th Rifle Division — established at Chita Feb 1941. Fought near Leningrad and in the Petsamo-Kirkenes Operation. Became the 102nd Guards Rifle Division in Dec 1944.
  • 66th Rifle Division—traces its origins as a division to 1932. Fought in Far East in 1945.
  • 67th Rifle Division — established in the Leningrad area in the 1920s. Fought on Finnish front. With 14th Army in northern Norway May 1945.
  • 68th Mountain Rifle Division — established Baku before 1941. With 4th Army of the Transcaucasus Front in 5.45, located in Romania in 1946.
  • 69th Rifle Division — established Kuibyshev in the 1930s. Initially a motorized division, and has been listed as fighting with 28th Army. It appears now that (citing Soviet documents) that 69th Motorized Division became 107th Tank Division on 17 July 1941.[14] Recreated at Tashkent in Dec 1941. Fought at Kursk, Stettin, and in the Belorussian Operation. With 65th Army of the 2nd Belorussian Front May 1945.
  • 70th Rifle Division — established 1934 at Kuybishev; fought in the Winter War with Finland, at Leningrad and Novgorod. Renamed 45th Guards Rifle Division October 1942.[15] Recreated at Moscow from 70th Rifle Brigade Mar 1943. Fought at Kursk and in Belorussia. With 43rd Army of the 2nd Belorussian Front May 1945.

71 - 80 Divisions[]

  • 71st Rifle Division — established Kemerovo before Jun 1941. With 7th Army (Soviet Union) on 22 June 1941. Fought near Leningrad and Kursk, and in Vistula-Oder Operation. With 70th Army of the 2nd Belorussian Front May 1945. See ru:71-я стрелковая дивизия.
  • 72nd Rifle Division — established Leningrad before Jun 1941. Wiped out vicinity Tiraspol Jul 1941. Recreated near Leningrad Dec 1941 from 7th Naval Infantry Brigade. In Leningrad Military District postwar in 1945. With 21st Army of the 1st Ukrainian Front 5.45.
  • 73rd Rifle Division—established Omsk in Jul 1940. Wiped out at Vyazma Oct 1941. Recreated Feb 1942 at Ordzhonikidze. Fought near Stalingrad, Kursk, and in the Belorussian and Berlin Operations. With 48th Army of the 3rd Belorussian Front May 1945.
  • 74th Rifle Division — established Krasnodar before Jun 1941. Fought vicinity of Kursk, Kiev, and Poznań. With 26th Army of the 3rd Ukrainian Front 5.45.
  • 75th Mountain Rifle Division - established Lubny May 1939. On May 15, 1939 the 75th Rifle Division was transferred from the 14th Rifle Corps (Kharkov Military District) and arrived in the Leningrad Military District. Fought in Winter War with Finland. With 4th Army, Western Front, from June 1941. Wiped out vicinity Kiev Aug 1941. Recreated by January 1942 from 473rd Rifle Division, which became 75 RD (II Formation). With 4th Army of the Transcaucasus Front in May 1945.
  • 76th Rifle Division—formed at least twice, first time as an Armenian national formation which was converted into 51st Guards Rifle Division. With 47th Army of the 1st Belorussian Front May 1945.
  • 77th 'Simferopolskaya Red Banner, Order of Suvorov Division Sergo Ordzhonikidze' Mountain Rifle Division — established Baku 1930 originally as the Azerbaijan Infantry Division.[16] Converted to rifle division June 1942. Azerbaijani national formation. Fought in Caucasus and Crimea and vicinity Riga and Memel. With 51st Army of the Kurland Group (Leningrad Front) May 1945.
  • 78th Rifle Division—established Khabarovsk in 1940. Became 9th Guards Rifle Division in Nov 1941. Recreated Samarkand Mar 1942. Fought near Targul Frumos, Iasi-Kishinev, and Debrecen. With 27th Army of the 3rd Ukrainian Front 5.45.
  • 79th Mountain Rifle Division — in Far East by 1941, with 16th Army of the Far Eastern Front 5.45. Occupied Sakhalin Island Aug 1945.
  • 80th Rifle Division Formed 1923. Second formation 1941.

81 - 90 Divisions[]

  • 81st Rifle Division — established Lubny around 1936. As mechanised division, part of 4th Mechanised Corps, Southwestern Front, in June 1941. Fought at Voronezh and Kursk. With Soviet 1st Guards Army of the 4th Ukrainian Front in May 1945.
  • 82nd Rifle Division — established Perm in 1932. Sent to Far East, returned for Moscow counter-attack in Dec 1941.[citation needed][17] Was a motorized division until Mar 1942. Became 3rd Guards Motorized Rifle Division in Mar 1942 which unit later became the 6th Guards Mechanized Corps (and finally 90th Guards Tank Division many years later). Recreated Jul 1942. Fought in Poland 1945. With 47th Army of the 1st Belorussian Front May 1945.
  • 83rd Mountain Rifle Division - From 01.07.35 established at Ashkabad as 83rd Turkestan mountain rifle division. Fought at Krasnodar and the Kuban. Became the 128th Guards Rifle Division in October 1943. Today is 128th Mechanized Brigade (Ukraine). Second formation (re)-created at Loutti in January 1944 as a regular rifle division. Fought in Petsamo-Kirkenes Operation and Karelia. With 14th Army in northern Norway in May 1945. See ru:83-я стрелковая дивизия. Became 146th Motor Rifle Division in 1957.
  • 84th Rifle Division — established at Tula before 1928. Fought near Stalingrad, Voronezh, Kursk, Kharkiv, Iasi, Targul Frumos, and Budapest. With 57th Army of the 3rd Ukrainian Front 5.45. See ru:84-я стрелковая дивизия.
  • 85th Rifle Division. With 42nd Army of the Kurland Group (Leningrad Front) May 1945.
  • 86th Rifle Division — established at Laurovo Feb 1941. Fought near Leningrad and Tartu, and in East Prussia. With 2nd Shock Army of the 2nd Belorussian Front May 1945.
  • 87th Rifle Division — established at Sverdlovsk in 1937. Apparently wiped out summer 1941. Recreated Nov 1941; became 13th Guards Rifle Division (Soviet Union). Recreated at Citorol in May 1942. Fought at Stalingrad with less than 800 effectives. Fought in the Ukraine, Crimea, and in Kurland. With 51st Army of the Kurland Group (Leningrad Front) May 1945.
  • 88th Rifle Division — established at Archangelsk before Sep 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 31st Army of the 1st Ukrainian Front 5.45. See ru:88-я стрелковая дивизия (1-го формирования).
  • 89th Rifle Division—established at Kursk before Jun 1941. Wiped out at Vyazma Oct 1941. Recreated Yerevan Jan 1942. Armenian national formation. Fought in Ukraine, Crimea, and Pomerania. Postwar in Georgia. Disbanded as 12th Military Base in 2008.
  • 90th Rifle Division — established at Leningrad in 1936. Fought at Leningrad and in Estonia and East Prussia. With 2nd Shock Army of the 2nd Belorussian Front May 1945.

91 - 100 Divisions[]

  • 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 the Ukraine, Crimea, and Latvia. With 51st Army of the Kurland Group (Leningrad Front) May 1945.
  • 92nd Rifle Division — established at Barabash before Apr 1937. 22 June 1941 with 39th Rifle Corps, 25th Army, Soviet Far East Front. Wiped out at Volkhov Jun 1942. Recreated from 20th NKVD Division at Tikhvin post-6.42. With 59th Army of the 1st Ukrainian Front 5.45.
  • 93rd Rifle Division — established Chita in 1936. Became 26th Guards Rifle Division in Apr 1942. Recreated Dzerzhinsk Jul 1942. Fought in Ukraine and Yugoslavia. With 26th Army of the 3rd Ukrainian Front 5.45.
  • 94th Rifle Division — established Krasnoyarsk before 1941. Fought near Ternopol. With 36th Army of the Transbaikal Front 5.45.
  • 95th Rifle Division — established Kotoviki in 1940, and was with 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.
  • 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.
  • 97th Rifle Division — established Zhmerinka before 1940. The 377th OTB of the 97th Rifle Division arrived at the front he Winter War on 28 January 1940 with 31 T-26s (including 11 twin-turreted) and 6 KhT-26 flame-throwing tanks.[18] With 6th Rifle Corps, 6th Army of the Southwestern Front from 22 June 1941. (See ru:97-я стрелковая дивизия (1-го формирования)) Wiped out at Kiev Sep 1941. Recreated Divisionnaya Jan 1942. Became 83rd Guards Rifle Division Apr 1943. Recreated Belev May 1943. Fought near Vitebsk, Vilnius, and in Hungary. With 5th Army of the RVGK 5.45.
  • 98th Rifle Division — established Ishevsk Feb 1941. Wiped out at Vyazma Oct 1941. Recreated Spassk Oct 1941. Fought in Stalingrad. Became 86th Guards Rifle Division Apr 1943. Recreated at Leningrad from 250th Rifle Brigade. Fought vicinity Leningrad. With 59th Army of the 1st Ukrainian Front 5.45.
  • 99th Rifle Division—Established at Uman in 1924. Took part in Soviet invasion of Poland (1939) with the Ukrainian Front. Recognised as one of the best divisions in the Army under Andrey Vlasov's command in 1940. (Erickson, 1962, p. 554) Started Operation Barbarossa with 8th Rifle Corps, 26th Army, Southwestern Front. Wiped out at Izyum May 1942. Recreated Balachov Aug 1942. Fought at Stalingrad. Became 88th Guards Rifle Division Apr 1943. Recreated from 99th Rifle Brigade May 1943. Fought near Zhitomir and in Carpathians. With 46th Army of the 2nd Ukrainian Front 5.45. Disbanded 1945–46. See also [3] See also ru:99-я стрелковая дивизия (2-го формирования)
  • 100th Rifle Division — established Berdichev Nov 1923. Fought in Winter War with Finland. Became 1st Guards Rifle Division Sep 1941. Recreated Vologda Mar 1942. Fought near Stalingrad, and in the Ukraine and Belorussia. With 60th Army of the 4th Ukrainian Front 5.45.

101 - 110 Divisions[]

  • 101st Motorized Rifle Division—Fought at Battle of Moscow 1941. On Sakhalin Island as the 101st Rifle Division May—Aug 1945, with the independent Sakhalin command.
  • 102nd Rifle Division—5450 чел. (начало сборов 1.06.41, Kharkov Military District). Disbanded Oct 1941. Recreated Chimkent Jan 1942. Again recreated from Far East NKVD Division at Khabarovsk June 1942, and joined 70th Army. Fought at Demyansk, Kursk, and in Belorussia. With 48th Army of the 3rd Belorussian Front May 1945.
  • 103rd Rifle Division—fought in Winter War with Finland 1940. Converted to motorized division Mar 1941. Wiped out at Vyazma Oct 1941. Recreated at Samarkand Jan 1942. Fought at Kharkiv, wiped out at Izyum May 1942. Recreated ?; with 2nd Rifle Corps in Transbaikal Front in January 1945; still part of 2RC on Aug 9, 1945 and part of 36th Army, Transbaikal Front.
  • 104th Rifle Division—established at Kandalaksha before 12.39, fought at Petsamo and on Kandalaksha axis. With 57th Army of the 3rd Ukrainian Front 5.45.
  • 105th Rifle Division—established at Ussuriysk before June 1941, fought at Kharkiv in 1943 and stationed in the Far East. With the 25th Armyof the independent coastal group in the Far East May 1945.
  • 106th Rifle Division—established at Solotonoscha before 6.41, and with 9th Rifle Corps, Odessa Military District, in Jine 1941. Wiped out at Vyazma 10.41. Recreated 10.41 and destroyed at Kerch 11.41. Recreated at Krasnodar 12.41 and wiped out in the Caucasus 8.42. Created again at Chita from the Transbaikal NKVD Division 11.42, fought at Demyansk, Kursk, on the Dnieper River, and at Berlin. With 3rd Guards Army of the 1st Ukrainian Front 5.45.
  • 107th Rifle Division—established at Moscow before 6.41, fought at Yelnaya and became 5th Guards Rifle Division 10.41. Recreated at Tambov 3.42, fought in the Ukraine and at Kraków. With 60th Army of the 4th Ukrainian Front 5.45.
  • 108th Rifle Division—established at Vyazma Mar 1941. Composed of the 407th, 444th,539th rifle and 575th artillery regiments.[19] 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.
  • 109th Rifle Division—established as a motorized division Jul 1940 in the Transbaikal region. Wiped out at Smolensk Aug 1941. Recreated at Samarkand in Aug 1941. Wiped out at Sevastopol May 1942. Recreated at Leningrad Aug 1942. With 8th Army of the Leningrad Front May 1945.
  • 110th Rifle Division—with 50th Army of the 3rd Belorussian Front May 1945.

111 - 120 Divisions[]

  • 111th Rifle Division formed at Vologda in 1940 and was in Archangelsk MD on 22 June 1941, fought at Ostrov and became 24th Guards Rifle Division in March 1942.[20] Recreated at Kalinin 6.42, fought at Kursk and Iasi. With 52nd Army of the 1st Ukrainian Front 5.45.
  • 112th Rifle Division—established at Vyazma prior to 7.41 and wiped out there 10.41. Recreated at Novosibirsk 4.42, fought at Stalingrad, Kiev, Korosten, Zhitomir, and in Poland and Germany. With 6th Army of the 1st Ukrainian Front 5.45.
  • 113th Rifle Division—established at Rylsk 8.39 and wiped out at Minsk 7.41. Recreated at Moscow from 5th Moscow People's Militia Division 7.41, fought at Moscow, Vyazma, and Rogan. With 57th Army of the 3rd Ukrainian Front 5.45.
  • 114th Rifle Division—established in Transbaikal 6.41, fought on Svir River and in northern Finland and Norway. With 14th Army in northern Norway May 1945. Had small Norwegian attachments. Reconstituted as 114th Guards Airborne Division in 1946.
  • 115th Rifle Division—established at Nalchik in 1940. Fought near Murmansk, Leningrad, and Novgorod. With 43rd Army of the 2nd Belorussian Front May 1945.
  • 116th Rifle Division—established at Kremenchug prior to 6.41 and wiped out at Kiev 9.41. Recreated at Chita 12.41, fought at Stalingrad, Kharkiv, and Targul Frumos. With 52nd Army of the 1st Ukrainian Front 5.45.
  • 117th Rifle Division—established at Kuibyshev 9.39, wiped out at Kiev 9.41. Recreated at Ivanovo 1.42, fought at Kerch, the Puławy Bridgehead, Poznań, and Berlin. With 69th Army of the 1st Belorussian Front 5.45.
  • 118th Rifle Division—established at Kostroma 6.41, fought at Pskov and wiped out at Vyazma 10.41. 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 5.45.
  • 119th Rifle Division—established at Krasnoyarsk prior to 7.41 and became 17th Guards Rifle Division 3.42. Recreated at Moscow 3.42, fought at Stalingrad and became 54th Guards Rifle Division 12.42. Created again from 161st Rifle Brigade at Alexin 4.43, fought at Kursk. With 22nd Army of the Stavka Reserve (RVGK) 5.45.
  • 120th Rifle Division—established at Ashkabad prior to 8.41, became 6th Guards Rifle Division 26.9.41. Recreated at Kilogriv 8.42, fought at Stalingrad, became 69th Guards Rifle Division 2.43. Created again from 11th Rifle Brigade at Schlusselburg 4.43, fought at Narva. With 21st Army of the 1st Ukrainian Front 5.45.

121 - 130 Divisions[]

  • 121st Rifle Division—established at Bobruysk prior to 6.41, fought at Rylsk and Kiev. With 38th Army of the 4th Ukrainian Front 5.45.
  • 122nd Rifle Division—established at Rylsk 4.39, fought at Kandalaksha. With 57th Army of the 3rd Ukrainian Front 5.45.
  • 123rd Rifle Division—established at Vishny Volochek in 1939. Fought in Winter War with Finland, and subsequently in northern Russia. With 67th Army of the Leningrad Front 5.45.
  • 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.
  • 125th Rifle Division—established at Kirov prior to 6.40, fought near Leningrad. With 21st Army of the 1st Ukrainian Front 5.45.
  • 126th Rifle Division—established at Moscow Dec 1940, and was with Eleventh Army in June 1941. Second division with same number established at Vorishilov Sep 1941. Original incarnation of division disbanded Dec 1941. Second incarnation of division fought at Stalingrad, Melitopol, and in the Ukraine and Crimea. With 43rd Army of the 2nd Belorussian Front May 1945.
  • 127th Rifle Division—5600 men (начало сборов 10.06.41, Kharkov MD). Established at Kharkiv 7.40, fought at Yelna, became 2nd Guards Rifle Division 18.9.41. Recreated at Atkarsk 2.42, fought near Stalingrad, became 62nd Guards Rifle Division 1.43. Created again at Kuibyshev 5.43 from the 52nd and 98th Rifle Brigades. Fought in the Ukraine and Poland. With 3rd Guards Army of the 1st Ukrainian Front 5.45.
  • 128th Mountain Rifle Division—originally formed 1920s as 1st Turkestanskaya RD. Possibly with Eleventh Army in June 1941. Fought near Leningrad and at Kattowitz. With 21st Army of the 1st Ukrainian Front 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 8.39 and wiped out at Vyazma 10.41. 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 28th Army of the 1st Ukrainian Front 5.45.

131 - 140 Divisions[]

  • 131st Rifle Division—established at Novograd Volynsky Nov 1939. Wiped out at Kiev Sep 1941. Recreated at Kirov Jan 1942. With 62nd Army at Stalingrad. With 8th Army of the Leningrad Front May 1945.
  • 132nd Rifle Division—6000 чел. (начало сборов 1.06.41, Kharkov MD); established at Poltava prior to 9.39, fought at Bryansk, Voronezh, on the Dnieper River, in Poland, and at Berlin. With 47th Army of the 1st Belorussian Front May 1945.
  • 133rd Rifle Division—established at Biysk prior to 6.41, became 18th Guards Rifle Division 3.42. Recreated at Kostroma 6.42, fought at Smolensk, Targul Frumos, and Iasi. With 40th Army of the 2nd Ukrainian Front 5.45.
  • 134th Rifle Division—6000 чел. (начало сборов 1.06.41, Kharkov Military District); established at Kramatorskaya 6.41 and wiped out at Vyazma in October 1941. Recreated at Solnechnogorsk 2.42, fought near Kalinin, in the Puławy Bridgehead, and at Berlin. With 69th Army of the 1st Belorussian Front May 1945.
  • 135th Rifle Division—established in Kiev Military District 9.39, joined 40th Army when the Army was formed, but then wiped out during the Battle of Kiev in September 1941. Recreated at Kolomna in February 1942 from the 401st Rifle Division. Fought near Kalinin, Kiev, Targul Frumos, and Kattowitz. With 6th Army (Soviet Union) of the 1st Ukrainian 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.[21] Recreated at Leninakan in February 1943. Fought in Ukraine, at Targul Frumos and Gydnia, and in the Berlin Operation. With 70th Army of the 2nd Belorussian Front May 1945.
  • 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.
  • 138th Rifle Division—Formed 1939 at Leninkan, г. в Калининской Oblast. Fought with 7th Army during the Winter War against Finland.[22] With 51st Army on 1 February 1942. Wiped out at Kerch May 1942, and recreated same month. Fought at Stalingrad and became 70th Guards Rifle Division по приказу of the State Defence Committee (НКО) СССР of 6.02.43 № 56. Raised again at Kalinin 5.43 from the 6th Naval Rifle and 109th Motor Rifle Brigade. Fought in the Carpathians. With 18th Army of the 4th Ukrainian Front 5.45.
  • 139th Rifle Division — formed three times, in 1939 and twice in 1941.
  • 140th Rifle Division—established at Uman Sep 1939. Wiped out at Nikolayev Aug 1941. Recreated from the 13th Moscow People's Rifle Division at Moscow Jul 1941. Wiped out at Vyazma Oct 1941. Recreated at Kanasch Jan 1942. Inactivated Aug 1942. Recreated at Novorossiysk Nov 1942. Fought at Kursk, Zhitomir, Lvov, in the Carpathians, and at Prague. With 38th Army of the 4th Ukrainian Front 5.45.

141 - 150 Divisions[]

  • 141st Rifle Division—established at Slavyansk September 1939. Wiped out at Nikolayev Aug 1941. Recreated at Kazan Jan 1942. Fought at Kharkiv, Voronezh, Kiev, Stanislav, and in the Carpathians. With Seventh Guards Army of the 2nd Ukrainian Front May 1945.
  • 142nd Rifle Division—established at Hiitola prior to Jun 1941. Fought on Finnish front and in East Prussia. With 2nd Belorussian Front May 1945.
  • 143rd Rifle Division—established at Gomel prior to Jun 1941. Wiped out at Bryansk Oct 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 Jul 31, 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 Jun 1941. Fought at Smolensk; wiped out at Roslavl Aug 1941. Recreated at Balachna Jan 1942. Fought at Chelm and Vitebsk, then in the Baltic lands and Poland.
  • 146th Rifle Division—established at Bedichev Jul 1940. Wiped out at Kiev Sep 1941. Recreated at Kazan Jan 1942. With 3rd Shock Army of the 1st Belorussian Front May 1945.
  • 147th Rifle Division—established at Lubny Sep 1939. Fought at Kiev and wiped out there Aug 1941. Recreated at Kazan Apr 1942 (Goff, 1998, says reformed from 426th RD about 28 Jan 42). Fought at Stalingrad, in the Ukraine, and at Berlin. With 13th Army of the 1st Ukrainian Front 5.45.
  • 148th Rifle Division—established at Engels prior to Jul 1941. Fought at Voronezh, Kursk, Chernigov, Shepetovka, Ternopol, and Lvov. With 60th Army of the 4th Ukrainian Front 5.45.
  • 149th Rifle Division—established at Ostrogosh prior to Jun 1941. Fought at Smolensk and Yelnaya; wiped out at Vyazma Oct 1941. Recreated at Ryazan around 27 Jan 1942 from 427th Rifle Division. Fought at Lenino and Volyinskiy. With 3rd Guards Army of the 1st Ukrainian Front 5.45.
  • 150th Rifle Division—established at Vyazma Sep 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 Divisions[]

  • 151st Rifle Division—6000 чел. (начало сборов 1.06.41, Kharkov MD); 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.
  • 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.
  • 153rd Rifle Division—became 3rd Guards Rifle Division September 1941; Re-activated early 1942 as the 153rd Rifle Division; 31st Dec 1942 renamed 57th Guards Rifle Division; with 50th Army of the 3rd Belorussian Front May 1945. 1957 renamed 57th Guards Motorized Rifle Division; attached to the Eighth Guards Army (1945–1990's).
  • 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.
  • 156th Rifle Division—established at Staniza-Petrovska prior to Jun 1941. With 9th Rifle Corps of Odessa 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 the 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.
  • 158th Rifle Division—established at Yeysk (Ейск) in 1940. Wiped out at Smolensk Aug 1941. Recreated at Moscow from 5th Moscow Home Guard Rifle Division Jan 1942. Fought at Kalinin and Vitebsk. With 2nd Belorussian Front May 1945.
  • 159th Rifle Division—established at Belaya Tserkov 6.40, with 6th Rifle Corps, 6th Army of the Soviet Southwestern Front 22.6.41. Wiped out at Kiev 9.41 and recreated in the Urals the same month. Fought at Stalingrad and became the 61st Guards Rifle Division 1.43. Created again at Rzhev from the 20th Rifle and 49th Ski Brigades 6.43, fought at Vitebsk and Insterburg. With 5th Army of the RVGK 5.45. See also fr:159e division de fusiliers.
  • 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 Mar 1945. With 70th Army of the 2nd Belorussian Front May 1945. Disbanded in 1955 in the Transcaucasus Military District by being renumbered 4th Rifle Division.

161 - 170 Divisions[]

  • 161st Rifle Division - formed 1940, became 4th Guards Rifle Division on September 18, 1941. Reformed for the second time in April (or June) 1942 from 13th Separate Rifle Brigade in Moscow MD.[23] 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—5600 чел. (начало сборов 1.06.41, Kharkov MD) —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.
  • 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.
  • 164th Rifle Division—established at Orsha Nov 1939. Wiped out at Vyazma Oct 1941. Recreated at Lenino Oct 1943; with 4th Shock Army of the Kurland Group (Leningrad Front) May 1945.
  • 165th Rifle Division—established at Ordzhonikidze prior to Jun 1941. Wiped out Dec 1941. Recreated at Kurgan Dec 1941. Fought at Gydnia in 1945. With 70th Army of the 2nd Belorussian Front May 1945.
  • 166th Rifle Division—established at Tomsk prior to Jun 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.
  • 168th Rifle Division—established at Sortovala prior to 12.39, fought in Winter War. With 7th Army (Soviet Union) on 22 June 1941, fought near Leningrad and Stalingrad. With 22nd Army of the RVGK 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. Disbanded same month. Recreated same month at Molotov. Fought at Demyansk, Staraya Russa, Kursk, Rechitsa, and in East Prussia and Kurland. With 48th Army of the 3rd Belorussian Front May 1945.

171 - 180 Divisions[]

  • 171st Rifle Division—established at Kamensk September 1939. Wiped out at Kiev in September 1941. Fought in battle for the Reichstag building in Berlin, Apr 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 8.41. 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.
  • 174th Rifle Division—established at Kurgan 8.40 and became 20th Guards Rifle Division 17.3.42. Created again at Starobelsk from the 130th Motorized Rifle Brigade in April 1942 and became 46th Guards Rifle Division 10.42. Recreated at Kaluga from the 28th Rifle Brigade 4.43, fought at Kursk, and in Belorussia and East Prussia. With 31st Army of the 1st Ukrainian Front 5.45.
  • 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.
  • 177th Rifle Division—established at Leningrad prior to June 1941. Fought in northern areas of front. With 23rd Army of the Leningrad Front) May 1945.
  • 178th Rifle Division—established at Omsk prior to Jun 1941. With 23rd Army of the Leningrad Front) May 1945.
  • 179th Rifle Division— 'Vitebsk.' Established at Vilnius in 1940. With 29th Rifle Corps of Eleventh Army on June 22, 1941. Fought at Kalinin, Gomel, and Vitebsk; with 4th Shock Army of the Kurland Group (Leningrad Front) May 1945.
  • 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 Odessa Military District headquarters.[9] Then became 88th Motor Rifle Division 1957, but became 180th 'Киевская краснознаменная, орденов Суворова, Кутузова' 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 Divisions[]

  • 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.
  • 182nd Rifle Division—established at Dorpat prior to Jun 1941. Fought near Novgorod and Leningrad. With 43rd Army of the 2nd Belorussian Front May 1945.
  • 183rd Rifle Division—established at Wenden (Cēsis, Latvia?) from elements of the Latvian Army prior to 6.41, fought at Rzhev, Kursk, Lvov, and in the Carpathians. With 38th Army of the 4th Ukrainian Front 5.45.
  • 184th Rifle Division—With 29th Rifle Corps of 11th Army on 22.6.41. Part of 5th Army of the Reserve of the Supreme High Command, May 1945.
  • 185th Rifle Division—established at Belgorod 9.39, fought at Ryabinki 12.41 and in Belorussia in 1944. With 47th Army of the 1st Belorussian Front May 1945.
  • 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 Sep. 12'41. 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. 19'41 renamed into 186th Rifle Division. In June 26, 1943 again renamed into 205th Rifle Division (2nd formation)[24]). 186 RD was with 65th Army of the 2nd Belorussian Front May 1945.
  • 187th Rifle Division—6000 чел. (начало сборов 10.06.41, 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.
  • 188th Rifle Division—established at Kazan prior to 6.41, with 29th Rifle Corps of Eleventh Army on 22.6.41. Fought in central Russia and the Ukraine. With 37th Army in Bulgaria 5.45. Gained honor titles of Nizhnedneprovskaya (?- Нижнеднепровская) Red Banner and eventually became the 46th Rocket Division of the Strategic Rocket Forces, which finally disbanded in Ukraine in the 1990s.
  • 189th Rifle Division—established at Leningrad prior to Jun 1941. Fought at Tartu and in Kurland. With 67th Army of the Leningrad Front May 1945.
  • 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.

191 - 200 Divisions[]

  • 191st Rifle Division—established at Leningrad prior to Jun 1941. Fought at Kingisepp, Oranienbaum, Tikhvin, Narva, and Tartu. With 49th Army of the 2nd Belorussian Front May 1945.
  • 192nd Rifle Division—established at Rostov prior to 11.40, with cadre from the 80th Rifle Division, and wiped out at Konotop September 1941. Recreated 6.42 and inactivated 8.42. Created again at Ssyteschevka 5.43, fought in Belorussia. With 39th Army of the RVGK 5.45.
  • 193rd Rifle Division—established at Korosten May 1941. Wiped out at Kiev Sep 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.
  • 194th Mountain Rifle Division—established at Tashkent prior to Aug 1941. Fought at Yelnaya, Moscow, Stalingrad, Kursk, and in Belorussia, East Prussia, and Kurland. With 48th Army of the 3rd Belorussian Front May 1945.
  • 195th Rifle Division—established at Ovruch prior to 6.41 and wiped out at Kiev 9.41. Recreated in the Urals 3.42 from 423rd RD, fought at Stalingrad and in the Ukraine. With 37th Army in Bulgaria 5.45.
  • 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.
  • 198th Rifle Division—established as a motorized division at Leningrad Jun 1941. Inactivated Dec 1941 and recreated at Rybinsk post-1941. With the 10th Guards Army of the Kurland Group (Leningrad Front) May 1945.
  • 199th Rifle Division—established at Novosibirsk May 1941. Fought at Lake Ilmen and Kharkiv. Inactivated Sep 1942. Recreated at Kalinin from the 126th and 128th Rifle Brigades Feb 1943. Fought at Smolensk and in East Prussia. With 49th Army of the 2nd Belorussian Front May 1945.
  • 200th Rifle Division—established at Belokorovichi prior to Jun 1941. Wiped out at Kiev Sep 1941. Recreated at Busulusk Feb 1942 from 425th Rifle Division. Fought in Belorussia, at Gydnia, and at Berlin. With 49th Army of the 2nd Belorussian Front May 1945.

201 - 210 Divisions[]

  • 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.
  • 202nd Rifle Division—established at Leningrad as motor rifle division by 1941. Reverted to leg infantry, fought at Sol'tsa, Kiev, and Korsun. With 27th Army of the 3rd Ukrainian Front 5.45.
  • 203rd Rifle Division—established at Vorishilovsk 2.41, fought at Stalingrad, Zaporizhia, and Budapest. With 53rd Army of the 2nd Ukrainian Front 5.45. Eventually became the 203rd MRD in 1965 after a short period as the 102nd MRD and spent the Cold War serving in the Turkestan and Central Asian Military Districts.
  • 204th Rifle Division—established at Volkhovsk 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 Aug 1942. Fought and destroyed at Stalingrad, Aug—Oct 1942. Recreated at Yelnaya 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 April 30, 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).
  • 208th Rifle Division—with 50th Army of the 3rd Belorussian Front May 1945.
  • 209th Rifle Division—established at Ivye 4.41 as a motor rifle division. Wiped out at Minsk 7.41 and inactivated 9.41. Recreated 1944(?), part of 17th Army (Soviet Union) during the Soviet invasion of Manchuria, and with 36th Army of the Transbaikal Front 5.45.
  • 210th Rifle Division—established March 1941 as a motorised division,[citation needed] fought at Rzhev 8.41. Reorganised as 4th Cavalry Division 1941. Reformed, With 36th Army of the Transbaikal Front 5.45.

211 - 220 Divisions[]

  • 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.'[25] 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.
  • 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.
  • 214th Rifle Division—6,000 establishment (commenced mobilisation at Luhansk on the 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—established at Rovno 4.41 and wiped out at Kiev 9.41. Recreated at Nelidovo 4.42, fought on the Terek River, and 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. Eventually became 124th MRD in 1965 and, later, the 199th MRD in 1989.
  • 216th Rifle Division—established at Staro Konstantinov in May 1941. Fought at Kharkiv and in Karelia, Crimea, and Kurland. With 50th Army of the 3rd Belorussian Front May 1945. 216 RD in Fourth Army (Soviet Union) until 1955, brief period as 104 Mech Div, 216 MRD 1965, disbanded 1985.
  • 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.
  • 218th Rifle Division—established at Gusyatin prior to 6.41, inactivated 7.42. Recreated at Kiev 11.43, fought at Zhitomir. With 6th Army of the 1st Ukrainian Front 5.45.
  • 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.'[26] Fought at Yelnaya, Vyazma, Rzhev, Grodno, and Minsk. With 31st Army of the 1st Ukrainian Front 5.45.

221 - 230 Divisions[]

  • 221st Rifle Division—established at Krasnoufinsk 3.42, 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.
  • 222nd Rifle Division—established at Starodub Apr 1941. Fought at Yelnaya, Moscow, Mozhaisk, Smolensk, Lenino, Kalinin, and Mogilev. With 33rd Army of the 1st Belorussian Front May 1945.
  • 223rd 'Belgrade Red Banner Azerbaijan' Rifle Division— Azeri national formation. Established at Kuba 9.41, fought at Terek River, and in the Caucasus and the Ukraine, and later in Yugoslavia. With 46th Army of the 2nd Ukrainian Front in May 1945. See also http://www.vojska.net/eng/world-war-2/soviet-union/division/rifle/233/.
  • 224th Rifle Division—established at Suchum around Dec 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.
  • 225th Rifle Division—established at Yerevan 10.41, fought at Novgorod and Kattowitz. With 21st Army of the 1st Ukrainian Front 5.45.
  • 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.
  • 227th Rifle Division—5900 чел. (начало сборов 1.06.41, Kharkov MD); established at Sslavyansk 4.41, wiped out at Kharkiv 5.42. Recreated from 19th Rifle and 84th Naval Rifle Brigades summer 1942, fought at Kursk and in the Crimea. With 53rd Army of the 2nd Ukrainian Front 5.45. From autumn 1945 it was deployed in Krasnoyarsk. In May 1946 it was disbanded by being reformed as 49th Separate Rifle Brigade.
  • 228th Rifle Division—established at Zhitomir prior to 6.41 and wiped out at Kiev 9.41. Recreated at Kansk 11.41, fought at Stalingrad and in the Ukraine. With 53rd Army of the 2nd Ukrainian Front 5.45.
  • 229th Rifle Division—established at Noginsk 5.41, fought at Stalingrad and wiped out at Kalatsch 8.42. Recreated at Volokolamsk 12.42, fought at Opole. With 1st Ukrainian Front 5.45.
  • 230th Rifle Division—established at Dnipropetrovsk Jul 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 Divisions[]

  • 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—6000 чел. (начало сборов 1.06.41, 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.
  • 233rd Rifle Division—established at Zvenigorod 5.41 and wiped out at Smolensk 9.41. Recreated at Naro Fominsk 8.42, fought at Stalingrad, Kremenchug, Iasi, and in Hungary. With 26th Army of the 3rd Ukrainian Front 5.45.
  • 234th Rifle Division—established at Kostroma from Yaroslavl Home Guard Division 6.41, fought on central part of front and in Warsaw. With 61st Army of the 1st Belorussian Front 5.45.
  • 235th Rifle Division—established at Nikopol 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.
  • 236th Rifle Division—established at Kazakh 2.41, fought in the Crimea, the Caucasus, at Tuapse and in the Kuban, and at Belgrade. With 26th Army of the 3rd Ukrainian Front 5.45.
  • 237th Rifle Division—Established at Petrazadovsk 4.41, with Seventh Army (Soviet Union) on 22.6.41. Fought near Leningrad and destroyed there 9.41. Recreated at Stalinsk 2.42, fought on the Dnieper River, and in the Carpathians. With 1st Guards Army of the 4th Ukrainian Front 5.45.
  • 238th Rifle Division—established in Kazakhstan (Turkestan Military District) in early June 1941. Formed from Poles and people of Polish ancestry. Fought near Moscow and became 30th Guards Rifle Division May 1942. Recreated Arzamas Jun 1942. Fought at Stalingrad, Karachev, and in Belorussia, Poland, and East Prussia. With 49th Army of the 2nd Belorussian Front May 1945.
  • 239th Rifle Division—established at Tambov prior to 8.41, fought at the Battle of Moscow and in the Carpathians. With 59th Army of the 1st Ukrainian Front 5.45.
  • 240th Rifle Division—established at Kupyansk prior to 6.41 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.

241 - 250 Divisions[]

  • 241st Rifle Division—established at Vishniy Volocheck 10.41, fought at Kursk, Vinnitsa, and in the Carpathians. With 38th Army of the 4th Ukrainian Front 5.45.
  • 242nd Mountain Rifle Division—established at Moscow 7.41 and inactivated 10.41. Recreated at Grozny 3.42, fought at Mount Elbrus, in the Kuban and Taman Peninsula, at Kerch and Sevastopol. With 60th Army of the 4th Ukrainian Front 5.45.
  • 243rd Rifle Division—established at Yaroslavl 7.41, fought at Smolensk, Zaporizhia, and in Ukraine. With 1st Guards Cavalry-Mechanized Group of the 2nd Ukrainian Front 5.45.
  • 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.
  • 245th Rifle Division—established at Vishniy Volocheck 7.41, fought at Kattowitz. With 59th Army of the 1st Ukrainian Front 5.45.
  • 246th Rifle Division—established at Rybinsk 7.41, fought at Kursk, in the Crimea, and at Kraków. With 60th Army of the 4th Ukrainian Front 5.45.
  • 247th Rifle Division—established at Murom 7.41, fought at Kursk, the Puławy Bridgehead, and Berlin. With 69th Army of the 1st Belorussian Front 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 the Ukraine and Pomerania, and at Berlin. With 5th Shock Army of the 1st Belorussian Front May 1945.
  • 249th Rifle Division—established in Urals prior to 1941. Fought at Demyansk and Kalinin. Became 16th Guards Rifle Division Feb 1942. Recreated at Chebarkul, March 1942, as an Estonian national formation. With 1st Shock Army of the Kurland Group (Leningrad Front) May 1945. Became 122nd Guards Rifle Division June 1945.
  • 250th Rifle Division—established at Vladimir Jul 1941. Fought at Smolensk (1941), Kursk, Gomel, and in Belorussia. With 3rd Army of the 1st Belorussian Front May 1945.

251 - 260 Divisions[]

  • 251st Rifle Division—established at Kolomna Jul 1941. Fought at Smolensk, Moscow, Iasi, Targul Frumos, and in the Belorussian Operation and Kurland. With Soviet Second Guards Army of the 3rd Belorussian Front May 1945.
  • 252nd Rifle Division—established at Serpukhov 7.41 and wiped out at Belyi 5.42. Recreated at Molotov 8.42, fought at Stalingrad, Kursk, Iasi, and Pressburg. With Seventh Guards Army of the 2nd Ukrainian Front 5.45.
  • 253rd Rifle Division—established at Volochansk 7.41, 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.
  • 254th Rifle Division—established at Tula 7.41, 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 8.41, fought in Uman Pocket, inactivated 7.42. Recreated ?, with 15th Army of the Far Eastern Front 5.45.
  • 256th Rifle Division—established ?, fought at Smolensk, Moscow, and Kursk. With 22nd Army of the RVGK 5.45.
  • 257th Rifle Division—established at Tula Jul 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 4th Shock Army of the Kurland Group (Leningrad Front) May 1945.
  • 258th Rifle Division—established at Orel 7.41, 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 7.41, fought at Leningrad and in the Ukraine. With 37th Army in Bulgaria 5.45.
  • 260th Rifle Division—established at Kalinin 7.41, 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.

261 - 270 Divisions[]

  • 261st Rifle Division—established at Berdyansk 7.41, inactivated 10.42, subsequently recreated and with 45th Army of the Transcaucasus Front 5.45. After the war became 127th MRD and then, after the fall of the Soviet Union, the Russian 102nd Military Base in independent Armenia.
  • 262nd Rifle Division—established at Vladimir 7.41, fought at Demidov, Tilsit, and in Manchuria. With 39th Army of the RVGK 5.45.
  • 263rd Rifle Division—established at Vologda Nov 1941. Fought near Leningrad and in the Ukraine and Crimea. With 43rd Army of the 2nd Belorussian Front May 1945.
  • 264th Rifle Division—established at Poltava 7.41 and wiped out at Kiev 9.41. 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.
  • 265th Rifle Division—established at Leningrad, likely in 1941. Fought at Vyborg and Tortolovo. With 3rd Shock Army of the 1st Belorussian Front May 1945.
  • 266th Rifle Division—established at Kaluga as a motor rifle division Jul 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 the 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 Aug 1941. Wiped out at Volchov Jun 1942. Recreated at Serpukhov Sep 1942. Fought in the 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 7.41, fought at Leningrad and Mga. With 22nd Army of the RVGK 5.45.
  • 269th Rifle Division—established at Kolomna Jul 1941. Fought at Moscow, Orel, Gomel, Rogachev, Białystok, and Ostrołenka. With 3rd Army of the 1st Belorussian Front May 1945.
  • 270th Rifle Division—established at Melitopol Jul 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.

271 - 280 Divisions[]

281 - 290 Divisions[]

291 - 300 Divisions[]

301 - 310 Divisions[]

  • 301st Rifle Division—established at Poltava Aug 1941. Wiped out at Kiev Sep 1941. Recreated at Krasnoyarsk Mar 1942. Fought at Stalino, the Seelow Heights, and in Berlin. With 5th Shock Army of the 1st Belorussian Front May 1945.
  • 302nd Mountain Rifle Division—established at Krasnodar 7.41. With 51st Army on 1 February 1942. Fought at Feodosiya, Stalingrad, Ternopol, and Debica. With 60th Army of the 4th Ukrainian Front 5.45.
  • 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 5.45.
  • 305th Rifle Division—established at Dmitrov 7.41 and wiped out at Volkhov 6.42. Recreated at Voronezh 10.42, fought at Stalingrad, Kursk, and in the Carpathians. With 38th Army of the 4th Ukrainian Front 5.45.
  • 306th Rifle Division—established at Yuriev Sep 1941; with 1st Shock Army of the Kurland Group (Leningrad Front) May 1945.
  • 307th Rifle Division—established at Ivanovo Jul 1941. Fought at Voronezh, Kursk, and in Poland. With 50th Army of the 3rd Belorussian Front May 1945.
  • 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.
  • 310th Rifle Division—established at Akmolinsk Jul 1941. Fought at Tikhvin, Volkhov, and Danzig. With 19th Army of the 2nd Belorussian Front May 1945.

311 - 320 Divisions[]

  • 311th Rifle Division—established at Kisov (Kirov oblast) 7.41, fought at Smolensk, Mga, and Volkhov. With 61st Army of the 1st Belorussian Front 5.45.
  • 312th Rifle Division—established at Aktubinsk 7.41, wiped out at Maloyaroslavl 11.41. Recreated at Slavgorod 1.42, fought at Smolensk, the Puławy Bridgehead, Poznań, and Berlin. With 69th Army of the 1st Belorussian Front 5.45.
  • 313th Rifle Division—established in Turkestan Jun 1941. Fought at Leningrad and Danzig. With 19th Army of the 2nd Belorussian Front May 1945.
  • 314th Rifle Division—established at Petropavlovsk 7.41, fought on Finnish front. With 59th Army of the 1st Ukrainian Front 5.45.
  • 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 Jul 1941. Became 8th Guards Rifle Division on November 18, 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 Sep 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 5.42. 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.
  • 320th Rifle Division—established at Crimea 9.41, fought in the Crimea and wiped out at Kerch 5.42. Recreated at Leninakan 9.42, fought at Stalingrad, in the Caucasus, and at Jenakijevo. With 27th Army of the 3rd Ukrainian Front 5.45.

321 - 330 Divisions[]

331 - 340 Divisions[]

341 - 350 Divisions[]

351 - 360 Divisions[]

  • 351st Rifle Division—established at Stalingrad 9.41 and wiped out at Izyum 5.42. Recreated at Ordzhonikidze 8.42, fought at Krasny Oktybar and in the Ukraine. With 1st Guards Army of the 4th Ukrainian Front 5.45.
  • 352nd Rifle Division—established at Bugulma 8.41, fought at Moscow, Rzhev, and Grodno. With 31st Army of the 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.
  • 354th Rifle Division—established at Kuibyshev Oct 1941. Fought near Moscow, at Kursk, in Belorussia and Poland. With 65th Army of the 2nd Belorussian Front May 1945.
  • 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.
  • 356th Rifle Division—established at Kuibyshev 11.41, fought at Orel, Kursk, in Belorussia, and at Riga and Berlin. With 61st Army of the 1st Belorussian Front 5.45.
  • 357th Rifle Division—established at Sarapul Oct 1941. Fought at Rzhev and Velikiye Luki; with 1st Shock Army of the Kurland Group (Leningrad Front) May 1945.
  • 358th Rifle Division—established at Bugurusslan 8.41, fought near Orel and in Finland. With 39th Army of the RVGK 5.45.
  • 359th Rifle Division—established at Krasnodar 10.41, fought at Rzhev, Kalinin, Korsun, and in the Carpathians. With 6th Army of the 1st Ukrainian Front 5.45.
  • 360th Rifle Division—established at Chkalov Sep 1941. Fought at Nevel and in Belorussia and Kurland; with 1st Shock Army of the Kurland Group (Leningrad Front) May 1945.

361 - 370 Divisions[]

  • 361st Rifle Division—established at Ufa 10.41, fought at Torzhok, became the 21st Guards Rifle Division 3.42. Recreated ?, with 15th Army of the Far Eastern Front 5.45, was in Manchuria 8.45.
  • 362nd Rifle Division—established at Archangelsk Sep 1941. Fought at Moscow and Rzhev. Became 22nd Guards Rifle Division Mar 1942. Recreated ?; with 33rd Army of the 1st Belorussian Front May 1945.
  • 363rd Rifle Division—September 12, 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 March 17, 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 body in the 2nd Guards Army reflected shock stein (Operation "Vintergevitter ") 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.
  • 368th Rifle Division—established in Siberia 9.41, served on Finnish front and in the Petsamo-Kirkenes Operation; with the Belarussian Military District 5.45.
  • 369th Rifle Division—established at Kurgan Sep 1941. Fought at Kursk, in Belorussian Operation, and at Danzig. With 70th Army of the 2nd Belorussian Front May 1945.
  • 370th Rifle Division—established at Tomsk 9.41, fought at Demyansk, Staraya Russa, the Puławy Bridgehead, and Berlin. With 69th Army of the 1st Belorussian Front 5.45.

371 - 380 Divisions[]

381 - 390 Divisions[]

391 - 400 Divisions[]

401 - 420 Divisions[]

  • 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 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.[28]
  • 402nd Rifle Division— Azeri national formation.[29] 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 December 12, 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 5.45.
  • 404th Rifle Division—established at Sumgait 10.41 and wiped out at Kerch 5.42. Recreated in Transcaucasian MD.
  • 405th Rifle Division—established in Kazhakstan; absorbed into the 120th Rifle Division 3.3.42.
  • 406th Rifle Division—established at Kirovakan 9.41 as Georgian national formation, fought in the Caucasus. With 12th Rifle Corps of the Transcaucasus Front May 1945. Eventually became 60th Motor Rifle Division.
  • 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 Сentral Аsian MD (at Semipalatinsk) in April 1942, but without having finished formation, it is disbanded in May 1942. Third formation was in the Transcaucasus MD in the summer of 1945 on the basis of 90th Rifle Brigade, but was then disbanded in 1946. A later formation of 407 RD was disbanded in the Transcaucasus Military District in 1955 by being renamed 7th RD (V Formation).
  • 408th Rifle Division—established at Yerevan in March 1942 as an Armenian national formation,[30] fought at Tuapse. May have become 408th Rifle Brigade 12.42.
  • 409th Rifle Division—established at Stepanavan in 1941. Fought at Kirovograd, Iasi, Targul Frumos, and Bratislava. With 7th Guards Army of the 2nd Ukrainian Front 5.45.
  • 411th Rifle Division—established at Chuguyev, 9.41 and wiped out at Izyum 5.42.
  • 413th Rifle Division—established at Svobodny July 1941. Fought at Tula, Kaluga, Moscow, and in Poland. With 65th Army of the 2nd Belorussian Front May 1945.
  • 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.
  • 415th RD—established at Vladivostok 7.41, fought at Moscow, Kursk, and in the Ukraine and Belorussia. With 61st Army of the 1st Belorussian Front 5.45; appears to have been disbanded soon after war ended.
  • 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.[31] Fought in Caucasus, at Taganrog, in the Ukraine and the Iasi-Kishinev Operation, and at Berlin. With 5th Shock Army of the 1st Belorussian Front May 1945.
  • 417th Rifle Division—established at Tblisi in March 1942. Fought in Caucasus, the Ukraine, Crimea, Riga, and Kurland. With 51st Army of the Kurland Group (Leningrad Front) May 1945. Became 78th Motor Rifle Division circa 1957.

421 - 440 Divisions[]

  • 421st Rifle Division—established at Simferopol 10.41, fought at Sevastopol 12.41 and inactivated 2.42.
  • 422nd Rifle Division—established December 1941 in the Volga Military District, and on 25 Dec. 1941 redesignated 397th RD (II Formation). Reestablished at Bikin 4.42, fought at Stalingrad. Became 81st Guards Rifle Division 3.43.
  • 423rd Rifle Division – established in the South Urals Military District (Dec.?) 1941, and quickly redesignated 195th RD (II Formation).
  • 424th Rifle Division – established in the South Urals MD 16 Dec. 1941, and by 9 Jan. 1942 became the 196th Rifle Division (II Formation).
  • 425th Rifle Division – established 16 Dec. 1941 in South Urals MD, became 200th Rifle Division (II Formation) 14 Jan. 1942.
  • 426th Rifle Division – formed 11 December 1941 in the Moscow Military District, and renumbered as 147th Rifle Division (II Formation) on 28 January 1942.
  • 427th Rifle Division – established 2 January 1942 in the Moscow Military District, renumbered as 149th Rifle Division 27 January 1942.
  • 428th Rifle Division – formed 16 December 1941 in South Urals MD; redesignated 206th Rifle Division (II Formation) about 27 January 1942.
  • 429th Rifle Division – established in South Urals MD about 12 December 1941; redesignated 211th Rifle Division (Second Formation) about four days later.
  • 430th Rifle Division – established in Urals MD about 16 December 1941; redesignated 152nd RD around 22 January 1942.
  • 431st Rifle Division – established 11 Dec 41 in Volga MD, became 58th RD ~ 25 Dec 41.
  • 432nd Rifle Division – established 3 Jan 42 in Urals MD, became 159th RD (Second Formation) about 27 Jan 42.
  • 433rd Rifle Division – established in South Urals MD 16 Dec 41, became 214th Rifle Division (Second Formation) about 25 Dec 41.
  • 434th Rifle Division – established in the Urals MD 1 Dec 41, became 162nd RD (Second Formation) 22 Jan 42.
  • 435th Rifle Division – established in the Urals MD 22 December 1941, became 164th Rifle Division (Second Formation) 22 January 1942.
  • 436th Rifle Division – established in the Urals MD 16 DEcember 1941, became 165th Rifle Division (Second Formation) 23 January 1942.

441 - 477 Divisions[]

  • 443rd Rifle Division — began forming in Tomsk, Siberian Military District on 15 December 1941. In January 1942 it was redesignated as the 284th Rifle Division.[32]
  • 444th Rifle Division — began forming in Urals Military District in December 1941. On 23 January 1942 was redesignated as the 175th Rifle Division while still in the military district.[32]
  • 457th Rifle Division — began forming in the Transbaikal Military District on 8 December 1941. On 13 January was redesignated as the 116th Rifle Division while still in the Transbaikal.[32]
  • 458th Rifle Division — was reformed as the 8th Rifle Division (IIIrd formation) on 23.4.42[33]
  • 463rd 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.[32]
  • 465th Rifle Division — began forming in the North Caucasus Military District in December 1941. On 3 January 1942 was redesignated as the 242nd Rifle Division.[32]
  • 468th Rifle Division — began forming in the Stalinggrad Military District in December 1941. On 25 December 1941 was redesignated as the 277th Rifle Division (Second Formation).[32]
  • 469th Rifle Division — began forming at Stalingrad in the North Caucasus Military District in December 1941. On 25 December 1941 it was redesignated as the 244th Rifle Division.[32]
  • 473rd Rifle Division — established in Baku and Sumgait, December 1941, renumbered as 75th Rifle Division (Second Formation) on 8 January 1942.
  • 474th Rifle Division - became 89th Rifle Division (Goff 1998)
  • 477th Rifle Division — began forming in Stalingrad, December 1941, renumbered as 266th Rifle Division on 22 December 1941.[32]

Guards Rifle Divisions[]

1 - 10 Guards Rifle Division[]

11 - 20 Guards Rifle Division[]

21 - 30 Guards Rifle Division[]

31 - 40 Guards Rifle Division[]

41 - 50 Guards Rifle Division[]

51 - 60 Guards Rifle Division[]

61 - 70 Guards Rifle Division[]

71 - 80 Guards Rifle Division[]

81 - 90 Guards Rifle Division[]

91 - 100 Guards Rifle Division[]

101 - 110 Guards Rifle Division[]

111 - 120 Guards Rifle Division[]

121 - 129 Guards Rifle Division[]

Motor Rifle Divisions[]

  • Orders of Lenin, Order of the October Revolution Red Banner Separate Motor Rifle Division of special purpose Internal Troops, Ministry of Interior of the USSR in the name of F. 3. Dzerzhinskiy created June 1924, still active in Russian Interior Ministry in 2009.
  • 1st Guards Motor Rifle Division 1941 - 1943, reformed 1957 - 2002
  • 2nd Guards Motor Rifle Division (ex 107th Motor Rifle Division Feb 1942). First formed at Kalininets Fought at Rzhev. Used to form 2nd Guards Mechanized Corps in Oct 1942.
  • 3rd Guards Motor Rifle Division (ex 82nd Motor Rifle Division Mar 1942). Used to form 6th Guards Mechanized Corps in Jun 1943.

People's Militia[]

Leningrad People's Militia[]

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 (Кировский район) (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 the 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 the 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[2]
  • 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 Narodnoe Opolcheniye (19 July 1941) named for the Dzerzhinsky District (Дзержинский район) (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 District. Division fought with 42nd Army. Redesignated as 44th Rifle Division in Sept 1941.
  • 4th Guards Division of Narodnoe Opolcheniye (27 July 1941) formed in the Kalinin District was never fully formed and on the 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 Opolcheniye battalions.
  • 5th (Kuybishevskaya) Division of Narodnoe Opolcheniye (1 September 1941) (commander Colonel F.P. Utkin) formed early September 1941 from the former 4th division and on the 10 September dislocated to Pulkovo.
  • 6th Division of Narodnoe Opolcheniye – formed 1 September 1941
  • 7th Division of Narodnoe Opolcheniye (commander Colonel I.S. Kuznetsov) raised on 17 September 1941 it was re-designated on the 30 September as the 56th Rifle Division.

Moscow People's Militia[]

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 the 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 rayon Narodnoe Opolcheniye Division (60th Rifle Division (2)) (Russian: 1-я - Ленинского района)[52]
  • 2nd Stalin rayon Narodnoe Opolcheniye Division (2nd Rifle Division (2)) (Russian: 2-я - Сталинского района)
  • 4th Kuybishev rayon Narodnoe Opolcheniye Division (110th Rifle Division (2)) (Russian: 4- я - Куйбышевского района)
  • 5th Frunze rayon Narodnoe Opolcheniye Division (113th Rifle Division (2)) (Russian: 5-я - Фрунзенского района)
  • 6th Dzerzhinsky rayon Narodnoe Opolcheniye Division (Russian: 6-я - Дзержинского района)
  • 7th Bauman rayon Narodnoe Opolcheniye division (29th Rifle Division (2)) (Russian: 7-я - Бауманского района)
  • 8th Krasnpreensky rayon Narodnoe Opolcheniye division (became 8th Rifle Division (2)) (Russian: 8-я - Краснопресненского района)
  • 9th Kirov rayon Narodnoe Opolcheniye division (became 139th Rifle Division (2)) (Russian: 9-я - Кировского района)
  • 13th Rostock rayon Narodnoe Opolcheniye division (became 140th Rifle Division (2)) (Russian: 13-я - Ростокинского района)
  • 17th Moskvorets rayon Narodnoe Opolcheniye division (became 17th Rifle Division (2)) (Russian: 17- я - Москворецкого района)
  • 18th Leningrad rayon Narodnoe Opolcheniye division (became 18th Rifle Division (III Formation)) then 11th Guards Rifle Division (Russian: Ленинградского района)
  • 21st Kiev rayon Narodnoe Opolcheniye division (became 173rd Rifle Division (2)) (Russian: 21-я - Киевского района)

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-Demyansk 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).

In October 1941 four more divisions were formed

  • 1st Communist Narodnoe Opolcheniye division
  • 2nd Communist Narodnoe Opolcheniye division
  • 3rd Communist Narodnoe Opolcheniye division
  • 4th Communist Narodnoe Opolcheniye division

Other People's Militia divisions[]

  • A Rostov-on-Don Cavalry Division of narodnoe opolcheniye later became the 116th Cavalry Division (116-я кавалерийская дивизия), and later still the 12th Guards Cavalry Division. It incorporated a separate opolcheniye rife regiment raised at the same time. The division initially enlisted Don Cossack population of the region.
  • The Stalingrad People's Militia corps included a cavalry and an infantry opolcheniye 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.

See also[]

Notes[]

  1. Seaton 1968 p. 42
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Crofoot, Craig. Armies of the Bear, Vol 1. Part 1.. 
  3. Crofoot, Craig (2005). Armies of the Bear, Orders of Battle Vol 1, Part 2. Tiger Lily Publications LLC. 
  4. Crofoot, Craig. Armies of the Bear, Vol. 1, Part 3. Tiger Lily Press. 
  5. Scott and Scott, 1979, p.12
  6. David Glantz, Colossus Reborn: The Red Army at War 1941–43, University Press of Kansas, 2005, p. 717 note 5.
  7. Feskov et al 2004, 71.
  8. Avanzini and Crofoot, 'Armies of the Bear,' Vol. I, Part 2, p.54.
  9. 9.0 9.1 Armies of the Bear
  10. & # entry43861 47 Mountain Division
  11. Feskov et al 2004, p.73.
  12. Feskov et al 2004, p.105.
  13. 63rd Infantry Division
  14. http://www.rkka.ru/handbook/reg/69md41.htm, accessed July 2011
  15. Awarded with the Order of Lenin after the Winter War. On the combat history of the division see, for example, Soviet Military Encyclopaedia, v.4, pp.431-431.
  16. history of 77 Infantry Division and 77-Rifle Division
  17. 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
  18. Kolomiets (2001), p. 58
  19. Боевой путь 108-Бобруйской ордена Ленина краснознаменной дивизии
  20. S.N.Zhilin and others “Under the Guard banner ". Arkhangelsk/Vologda. 1980
  21. 21.0 21.1 Журнал Санкт-Петербургский университет ISSN 1681-1941 / № 1-2 (3657-3658), 19 January 2004
  22. Data of the Red Army in the Winter War, OOB
  23. M.K.Smolnyy “7,000 kilometers in battles and campaigns". Military Publishing, 1982.
  24. Irregular Units of RKKA
  25. 'A Short description of 15 MEchanised Corps combat operations during the period from 22.6.41 through 12.7.41,' SBDVOV, issue 36, 253, via Glantz, Stumbling Colossus, 136.
  26. David Glantz, Stumbling Colossus, 208, drawing on SBDVOV, issue 37, 226.
  27. Форум
  28. [1]
  29. 402 Rifle Division
  30. Armenia and Armenians in World War II
  31. 416 Rifle Division
  32. 32.0 32.1 32.2 32.3 32.4 32.5 32.6 32.7 Sharp, Charles (1996). Soviet Order of Battle World War II, Vol IX. George F. Nafziger. 
  33. p.12, Perecheni, rifles divisions
  34. Poirier and Conner show the 21st GRD as being formed from the 361st RD in Mar 1942
  35. BSSA
  36. Feskov et al. 2004, p.114
  37. Michael Holm, 29th Guards Missile Division, accessed January 2013.
  38. Feskov et al 2004, p23
  39. Feskov et al 2004, 75.
  40. Feskov et al., 2004, Table 2.4, p.51/52
  41. http://rkka.ru/handbook/guard/84gvsd.htm
  42. Feskov et al 2004.
  43. Michael Holm, 10th Guards Airborne Division, accessed January 2013.
  44. 44.0 44.1 44.2 44.3 44.4 44.5 44.6 Armchair General http://www.armchairgeneral.com/forums/showthread.php?p=237068
  45. V.I. Feskov et al 2004, p.76
  46. Feskov et al, "Советская Армия в годы «холодной войны» (1945-1991)", p. 29, Tomsk: Tomsk University Press, 2004.
  47. Feskov et al, "Советская Армия в годы «холодной войны» (1945-1991)", p. 78, Tomsk: Tomsk University Press, 2004.
  48. Graham H. Turbiville, 'Restructuring the Soviet Ground Forces: Reduction, Mobilization, Force Generation,' Military Review, December 1989
  49. Feskov et al 2004, p.68
  50. Keith E. Bonn (ed.), Slaughterhouse: The Handbook of the Eastern Front, Aberjona Press, Bedford, PA, 2005, p.376
  51. 51.0 51.1 V.I. Feskov et al 2004, 76.
  52. First division of Narodnoe Opolcheniye (Первая дивизия народного ополчения) in Russian [2]

References[]

  • V.I. Feskov et al., The Soviet Army in the Period of the Cold War, Tomsk University Press, 2004
  • Goff, James F., The mysterious high-numbered Red Army rifle divisions, Journal of Slavic Military Studies, Vol. 11, No.4, December 1998, pp. 195–202
  • Glantz, David M., Colossus Reborn, Lawrence: University of Kansas Press, 2005. ISBN 0-7006-1353-6.
  • Glantz, David M., Companion to Colossus Reborn, Lawrence: University of Kansas Press, 2005. ISBN 0-7006-1359-5.
  • А. Г. Ленский, Сухопутные силы РККА в предвоенные годы. Справочник. — Санкт-Петербург Б&К, 2000
  • Robert G. Poirier and Albert Z. Conner, The Red Army Order of Battle in the Great Patriotic War, Novato: Presidio Press, 1985. ISBN 0-89141-237-9. Poirer 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.
  • Steven J. Zaloga and Leland S. Ness, Red Army Handbook 1941–1945, Phoenix Mill: Sutton Publishing, 1998. ISBN 0-7509-1740-7.
  • Albert Seaton and Joan Seaton, The Soviet Army 1918 to the present, New York: New American Library, 1986. ISBN 0-453-00551-9.
  • Боевой Состав Советской Армии 1941–1945 (Official Soviet Army Order of Battle from General Staff Archives).
  • http://samsv.narod.ru/
  • Link from the 223rd Rifle Division found here



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