3rd Guards Motor Rifle Division


The 3rd Guards Volnovakha Red Banner Order of Suvorov Motor Rifle Division was a division of the Soviet Army from 1941 to around 1992. It traced its history from the highly decorated 3rd Guards Rifle Division of World War II. The 3rd Guards Rifle Division was formed from the 153rd Rifle Division.

History

1941 to mid-1943

From 20 September to 9 November, the 3rd Guards fought as part of the 54th Army of the Leningrad Front in the area of Mga and Sinyavino. From 10 to 14 November, the division relocated to the left flank of the army, south of the city of Volkhov. From 15 November to 28 December, the division fought operations near Volkhov and then pursued the retreating German troops to the station of.
In the summer of 1942, the 3rd Guards was brought back up to strength and entered the Reserve of the Supreme High Command. From late August to September 1942, the division took part in the Sinyavino Offensive of the Volkhov Front. The division was tasked with leading the breakthrough of the German defenses in the area of the Kruglaya grove and the capture of the station of Sinyavino. On 27 August, the 5th Guards Rifle Regiment advanced towards Gontovaya Lipka. From 10 September to 15 October, the division fought on the hill of Kruglaya grove.
In early December 1942, the 3rd Guards was withdrawn from the reserve and transferred to the Stalingrad Front under the 2nd Guards Army. In winter conditions, the division completed a difficult forced march of approximately 240 kilometers from the railway station to the concentration areas. From 15 to 31 December 1942, the division engaged in active combat operations near Stalingrad.
During Operation Uranus on the line, the 2nd Guards Army played a decisive role in repelling the counterattack of the German Kotelnikovo group. On 17 December, the division was assigned to concentrate on a defensive line near the sovkhoz of Krep on the banks of the Myshkova river. On 20 December, the division fought heavy battles in Vasilyevka area. Elements of the 3rd Guards defended the sector from Ivanovka to Kapkinka, repelling the main offensive in the sector from Vasilyevka to Kapkinka. On 24 December, the division went on the offensive with the army and forced a German retreat to the south. On 29 December, the division reached the area of the Lenin sovkhoz by 15:00. On 31 December, at 10:30, the division fought on the line from hill 107.8 to the northern outskirts of Verkhny Vasilyevsky to the eastern outskirts of Komissarovsky. Continuing the offensive toward Rostov, the division participated in the liberation of Novocherkassk on 13 February 1943, and three days later reached the Mius River, where heavy German resistance forced it to take defensive positions. On 22 February, the 22nd Guards Artillery Regiment was awarded the Order of the Red Banner.

Summer 1943 to May 1945

In August–September 1943, the 3rd Guards Division took part in the Donbas strategic offensive. The division took part in liberating the inhabited localities of Volnovakha and Bolshoy Tokmak. The 3rd Guards Rifle Division was among the units to receive the Volnovakha honorific in recognition of its actions.
In late September, during the Melitopol Offensive, the 3rd Guards reached the lower reaches of the Dnieper and the Black Sea coast, liberating Kakhovka on 2 November 1943. In December, as part of the 4th Ukrainian Front, the division eliminated the German bridgehead on the left bank of the Dnieper after a fierce battle. In February 1944, the army was transferred to the area of the Isthmus of Perekop, and in April–May it took part in the Crimean Offensive, liberating Yevpatoriya on 13 April 1944, and, together with other forces of the 4th Ukrainian Front and the Black Sea Fleet, Sevastopol on 9 May. In May–June, the 2nd Guards Army was redeployed to the area of the cities of Dorogobuzh and Yelnya. From 20 May, it was in reserve, and on 8 July it was assigned to the 1st Baltic Front. In July, during the Šiauliai Offensive, the division repelled German counterattacks to the west and northwest of Šiauliai. In October, it participated in the Memel Offensive, occupying the town of Pagėgiai on 21 October. On 20 December, it was reassigned to the 3rd Belorussian Front. In January–April 1945, during the East Prussian Offensive, it broke through German defenses and eliminated, in conjunction with other troops, encircled German groups southwest of Königsberg and the Sambia group.

After WW2

After the end of the war, the 3rd Guards Division was reduced to the 13th Separate Guards Rifle Brigade on 31 July 1946. It was reformed as the 3rd Guards Rifle Division again in October 1953. The division was reformed as the 3rd Guards Motor Rifle Division in Klaipėda on 25 June 1957.
The 3rd Guards Rifle Division was assigned to the Voronezh Military District under the 11th Guards Rifle Corps in 1945–46, and later in 1955 and 1957. In the 1980s, the division became the 3rd Guards Motor Rifle Division for Coastal Defence on 12 October 1989 and transferred to the Baltic Fleet. Before that time it had been subordinated to the Baltic Military District. On 1 September 1993, the division was disbanded.

Assignments

Division units

On 5 July 1941

  • 435th Rifle Regiment
  • 505th Rifle Regiment
  • 666th Rifle Regiment
  • 122nd Separate Artillery Battalion
  • 565th Light Artillery Regiment
  • 581st Howitzer Artillery Regiment
  • 150th Separate Anti-Tank Battalion
  • 460th Separate Anti-Aircraft Artillery Battalion
  • 238th Separate Reconnaissance Battalion
  • 208th Separate Sapper Battalion
  • 297th Separate Communications Battalion
  • 362nd Separate Medical-Sanitary Battalion
  • 7th Separate Chemical Defense Company
  • 193rd Auto Transport Company
  • Field bakery and the divisional veterinary hospital.

In December 1942

  • 5th Guards Rifle Regiment
  • 9th Guards Rifle Regiment
  • 13th Guards Rifle Regiment
  • 22nd Guards Artillery Regiment
  • 11th Guards Mortar Battalion
  • 15th Guards Mortar Battalion
  • 10th Guards Sapper Battalion
  • 3rd Guards Battalion

Commanders

The following officers commanded the first formation of the 153rd Rifle Division and the 3rd Guards Rifle Division:

Awards

  • 18 September 1941 - the 153rd Rifle Division received the name:3rd Guards Rifle Division '.
  • 10 September 1943 - The division was given the name 'Volnovakha.
  • 24 April 1944 - the division was awarded the Order of the Red Banner
  • 5 April 1945 - the division was awarded the Order of Suvorov