1st Guards Motor Rifle Division
Encyclopedia
The 1st Guards Prolitariat Moscow-Minsk Order of Lenin, twice Red Banner Orders of Suvorov (II) and Kutuzov (II) Motor Rifle Division was a division
of the Red Army
and Russian Ground Forces
active from c.1918 to 2002.
The Division was first formed at Petrograd, November 1918. 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 Rifle Division in November 1920.
It was then re-formed either in December 1924 or at the beginning of 1927 in the Moscow Military District
, gaining the title of the 1st Moscow Proletariat Red Banner Rifle Division. Pavel Batov
was a battalion and then regiment commander in the Division in the late 1920s. In August 1939 it raised cadres for 115th and 126th Rifle Divisions. It was re-raised from its single remaining regiment in Sept 1939 (2nd formation), but in January 1940 formed the 1st Moscow Motor Rifle Division. On 22 June 1941 it was part of 7th Mechanised Corps, alongside 14th and 18th Tank Divisions in the Moscow Military District
, assigned to 20th Army
. It was the first Soviet formation to use T-34
tanks at Borisov on June 30, 1941. Fought at Orsha
, between Minsk
and Moscow, and at Yartsevo
in Sep 1941.
On September 21, 1941 it was renamed the 1st Guards Moscow Motor Rifle Division. Fought at Vyazma, Bryansk, and Rzhev. On Novwember 1, 1942 it was part of 20th Army
, Western Front. After the Rzhev-Sychevka offensive operation
in 1942 it was renamed (again) as the 1st Guards Rifle Division in January 1943. 1943 saw the Orel, Bryansk and Gorodok offensives for the division. Later it fought in Belorussia, Gumbinnen, East Prussia, and Kurland. Awarded 'Minsk' honourific in July 1944. With 11th Guards Army of the 3rd Belorussian Front
in May 1945.
The Division was for all the post-war period stationed in Kaliningrad
. It formed part of the 11th Guards Army
. It became the 1st Guards Moscow MRD (again) in 1957. Of the regiments of the war period, the 171st Guards was eliminated, but instead came the 609th of the 107th MRD. Virtually all of the time the division was truncated.
For much of the 1990s the 1st Guards MRD was reduced to a strength of only 4,400 men, but in 2002 was reduced in size again to the 7th Separate Guards Motor Rifle Brigade, and, circa 2008-09, to a Separate Motor Rifle Regiment of the Baltic Fleet .
Division (military)
A division is a large military unit or formation usually consisting of between 10,000 and 20,000 soldiers. In most armies, a division is composed of several regiments or brigades, and in turn several divisions typically make up a corps...
of the Red Army
Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army started out as the Soviet Union's revolutionary communist combat groups during the Russian Civil War of 1918-1922. It grew into the national army of the Soviet Union. By the 1930s the Red Army was among the largest armies in history.The "Red Army" name refers to...
and Russian Ground Forces
Russian Ground Forces
The Russian Ground Forces are the land forces of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, formed from parts of the collapsing Soviet Army in 1992. The formation of these forces posed economic challenges after the collapse of the Soviet Union, and required reforms to professionalize the force...
active from c.1918 to 2002.
The Division was first formed at Petrograd, November 1918. 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 Rifle Division in November 1920.
It was then re-formed either in December 1924 or at the beginning of 1927 in the Moscow Military District
Moscow Military District
The Moscow Military District was a military district of the Soviet Armed Forces and the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation. In 2010 it was merged with the Leningrad Military District, the Northern Fleet and the Baltic Fleet to form the new Western Military District.-History:In the beginning of...
, gaining the title of the 1st Moscow Proletariat Red Banner Rifle Division. Pavel Batov
Pavel Batov
Pavel Ivanovich Batov was a senior Red Army general during the Second World War and afterwards....
was a battalion and then regiment commander in the Division in the late 1920s. In August 1939 it raised cadres for 115th and 126th Rifle Divisions. It was re-raised from its single remaining regiment in Sept 1939 (2nd formation), but in January 1940 formed the 1st Moscow Motor Rifle Division. On 22 June 1941 it was part of 7th Mechanised Corps, alongside 14th and 18th Tank Divisions in the Moscow Military District
Moscow Military District
The Moscow Military District was a military district of the Soviet Armed Forces and the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation. In 2010 it was merged with the Leningrad Military District, the Northern Fleet and the Baltic Fleet to form the new Western Military District.-History:In the beginning of...
, assigned to 20th Army
20th Army (Soviet Union)
The 20th Army was a field army of the Red Army that fought during the Great Patriotic War.-First formation:The Army was first formed in the Orel Military District in June 1941...
. It was the first Soviet formation to use T-34
T-34
The T-34 was a Soviet medium tank produced from 1940 to 1958. Although its armour and armament were surpassed by later tanks of the era, it has been often credited as the most effective, efficient and influential design of World War II...
tanks at Borisov on June 30, 1941. Fought at Orsha
Orsha
Orsha is a city in Belarus in Vitebsk voblast on the fork of the Dnieper and Arshytsa rivers.-Facts:*Location: *Population: 125,000 *Phone code: +375 216*Postal codes: 211030, 211381–211394, 211396–211398-History:...
, between Minsk
Minsk
- Ecological situation :The ecological situation is monitored by Republican Center of Radioactive and Environmental Control .During 2003–2008 the overall weight of contaminants increased from 186,000 to 247,400 tons. The change of gas as industrial fuel to mazut for financial reasons has worsened...
and Moscow, and at Yartsevo
Yartsevo
Yartsevo is a town and the administrative center of Yartsevsky District of Smolensk Oblast, Russia, located on the Vop River northeast of Smolensk. Population:...
in Sep 1941.
On September 21, 1941 it was renamed the 1st Guards Moscow Motor Rifle Division. Fought at Vyazma, Bryansk, and Rzhev. On Novwember 1, 1942 it was part of 20th Army
20th Army (Soviet Union)
The 20th Army was a field army of the Red Army that fought during the Great Patriotic War.-First formation:The Army was first formed in the Orel Military District in June 1941...
, Western Front. After the Rzhev-Sychevka offensive operation
Operation Mars
Operation Mars was the codename for the Rzhev offensive operation part of the Rzhev-Vyazma strategic offensive operation launched by Soviet forces against German forces during World War II. It took place between 25 November and 20 December 1942 in a salient in the vicinity of Moscow...
in 1942 it was renamed (again) as the 1st Guards Rifle Division in January 1943. 1943 saw the Orel, Bryansk and Gorodok offensives for the division. Later it fought in Belorussia, Gumbinnen, East Prussia, and Kurland. Awarded 'Minsk' honourific in July 1944. With 11th Guards Army of the 3rd Belorussian Front
3rd Belorussian Front
The 3rd Belorussian Front was a Front of the Soviet Army during the Second World War...
in May 1945.
The Division was for all the post-war period stationed in Kaliningrad
Kaliningrad
Kaliningrad is a seaport and the administrative center of Kaliningrad Oblast, the Russian exclave between Poland and Lithuania on the Baltic Sea...
. It formed part of the 11th Guards Army
11th Guards Army
The 11th Guards Army was a Soviet field army active from 1943 to 1997, which traces its origins to the formation of the Soviet 16th Army in June-July 1940.-History:...
. It became the 1st Guards Moscow MRD (again) in 1957. Of the regiments of the war period, the 171st Guards was eliminated, but instead came the 609th of the 107th MRD. Virtually all of the time the division was truncated.
For much of the 1990s the 1st Guards MRD was reduced to a strength of only 4,400 men, but in 2002 was reduced in size again to the 7th Separate Guards Motor Rifle Brigade, and, circa 2008-09, to a Separate Motor Rifle Regiment of the Baltic Fleet .