The 1st Guards Proletariat Moscow-Minsk Order of Lenin, twice Red Banner Orders of Suvorov (II) and Kutuzov (II) Motor Rifle Division (russian: 1-я гвардейская мотострелковая Пролетарская Московско-Минская ордена Ленина, дважды Краснознаменная, орденов Суворова и Кутузова дивизия (2-е формирование)) was a division of the

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army (Russian language, Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist R ...

and

Russian Ground Forces The Russian Ground Forces (russian: Сухопутные войска �ВSukhoputnyye voyska V}), also known as the Russian Army (, ), are the land forces of the Russian Armed Forces. The primary responsibilities of the Russian Ground Force ...

active from c. 1918 to 2002.

History

Interwar period

It was formed either in December 1924 or at the beginning of 1927 in the

Moscow Military District The Order of Lenin Moscow Military District was a military district of the Soviet Armed Forces and the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation. The district was awarded the Order of Lenin in 1968. In 2010 it was merged with the Leningrad Military D ...

, 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 the 115th and 126th Rifle Divisions. In the mid 1930s the 1st Division was also the first to use modern headgear and weapons for the rising Red Army.

World War II

It was re-raised from its single remaining regiment in September 1939 (second formation), and by January 1940 was re-formed as the 1st Moscow Motor Rifle Division. Training was complete 7 June 1940, and 1st Moscow Motor Rifle Division took part in Soviet occupation of the Baltic states since 15 June 1940, advancing from base in

Polotsk Polotsk (russian: По́лоцк; be, По́лацк, translit=Polatsk (BGN/PCGN), Polack (official transliteration); lt, Polockas; pl, Połock) is a historical city in Belarus, situated on the Dvina River. It is the center of the Polotsk Dist ...

and forward positions at Widze to

Panevėžys Panevėžys (; Latin: ''Panevezen''; pl, Poniewież; yi, פּאָנעװעזש, ''Ponevezh''; see also other names) is the fifth largest city in Lithuania. As of 2011, it occupied with 113,653 inhabitants. As defined by Eurostat, the population ...

16 June 1940. After a month-long garrison duty in

and 2-month long garrisoning of

Daugavpils Daugavpils (; russian: Двинск; ltg, Daugpiļs ; german: Dünaburg, ; pl, Dyneburg; see other names) is a state city in south-eastern Latvia, located on the banks of the Daugava River, from which the city gets its name. The parts of the ...

, the 1st Moscow Motor Rifle Division was returned to Russia. For the actions during Soviet occupation of the Baltic states, the 6th motorized rifle regiment was awarded

Order of the Red Star The Order of the Red Star (russian: Орден Красной Звезды, Orden Krasnoy Zvezdy) was a military decoration of the Soviet Union. It was established by decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of 6 April 193 ...

22 February 1941.

Eastern Front (World War II) The Eastern Front of World War II was a theatre of conflict between the European Axis powers against the Soviet Union (USSR), Poland and other Allies, which encompassed Central Europe, Eastern Europe, Northeast Europe ( Baltics), and So ...

=Before annihilation near Smolensk

= *On 22 June 1941 it was part of the 7th Mechanised Corps, alongside the 14th and 18th tank divisions in the Moscow Military District, assigned to the 20th Army. *23 June 1941, the 1st Moscow Motor Rifle Division was replenished to the full strength of 10831 men. It was the first Soviet formation to use

T-34 The T-34 is a Soviet medium tank introduced in 1940. When introduced its 76.2 mm (3 in) tank gun was less powerful than its contemporaries while its 60-degree sloped armour provided good protection against anti-tank weapons. The C ...

tanks, at Borisov, on June 30, 1941. Yartsevo in Sep 1941. *11 July 1941, after suffering heavy losses, the 1st Moscow Motor Rifle Division was moved to the reserve of 20th army and placed north of

Orsha Orsha ( be, О́рша, Во́рша, Orša, Vorša; russian: О́рша ; lt, Orša, pl, Orsza) is a city in Belarus in the Vitebsk Region, on the fork of the Dnieper and Arshytsa rivers. History Orsha was first mentioned in 1067 as R ...

, and was completely encircled by the German forces 14 July 1941. *25 July 1941, the elements of 6th and 175th motor rifle regiments of 1st Moscow Motor Rifle Division break encirclement near Mogilev, but have suffered more losses in the heavy rearguard fighting by 30 July 1941. During that period, heavy personnel flow left few if any of the initial combatants. *By 5 August 1941, remnants of the 1st Moscow Motor Rifle Division were wiped out after being encircled again in

Smolensk Smolensk ( rus, Смоленск, p=smɐˈlʲensk, a=smolensk_ru.ogg) is a city and the administrative center of Smolensk Oblast, Russia, located on the Dnieper River, west-southwest of Moscow. First mentioned in 863, it is one of the oldest ...

region, in unclear circumstances.

=After annihilation near Smolensk

= 5 August 1941, the 1st Moscow Motor Rifle Division was re-formed anew within 20th army, 18 August 1941 renamed "1st armoured division" and on September 21, 1941, it was renamed the "1st Guards Moscow Motor Rifle Division". The division was renamed (again) as the "1st Guards Rifle Division", in January 1943. *30 August 1941, the 1st armoured division was participating in the Yelnya Offensive, forcing back 28th Jäger Division. Due heavy losses, the division was stopped advancing 10 September 1941 and was withdrawn to behind of Vop River. *18 September 1941, the 1st armoured division was withdrawn to

Mozhaysk MozhayskAlternative transliterations include ''Mozhaisk'', ''Mozhajsk'', ''Mozhaĭsk'', and ''Možajsk''. ( rus, Можа́йск, p=mɐˈʐajsk) is a town and the administrative center of Mozhaysky District in Moscow Oblast, Russia, located to th ...

for replenishment and subordinated directly to

Stavka The ''Stavka'' (Russian and Ukrainian: Ставка) is a name of the high command of the armed forces formerly in the Russian Empire, Soviet Union and currently in Ukraine. In Imperial Russia ''Stavka'' referred to the administrative staff ...

. *30 September 1941, the 1st Guards Moscow Motor Rifle Division was assigned to

40th army The 40th Army (, ''40-ya obshchevoyskovaya armiya'', "40th Combined Arms Army") of the Soviet Ground Forces was an army-level command that participated in World War II from 1941 to 1945 and was reformed specifically for the Soviet–Afghan War fr ...

and sent to

Sumy Sumy ( uk, Суми ) is a city of regional significance in Ukraine, and the capital of Sumy Oblast. The city is situated on the banks of the Psel River in northeastern Ukraine with a population of according to the 2021 census, making it the 23 ...

region. After initial advances, the 1st Guards Moscow Motor Rifle Division started to retreat 6 October 1941 as

First Battle of Kharkov The First Battle of Kharkov, so named by Wilhelm Keitel, was the 1941 battle for the city of Kharkov, Ukrainian SSR, during the final phase of Operation Barbarossa between the German 6th Army of Army Group South and the Soviet Southwestern F ...

was being lost by Soviet forces. After losing

10 October 1941, the division was withdrawn to the reserve and sent back to

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

. *21 October 1941, the division was assigned to 3rd army and arrived to Naro-Fominsk. The 1st Guards Moscow Motor Rifle Division lost 70% of personnel in

urban warfare Urban warfare is combat conducted in urban areas such as towns and cities. Urban combat differs from combat in the open at both the operational and the tactical levels. Complicating factors in urban warfare include the presence of civilians a ...

before retreating from Naro-Fominsk 25 October 1941. Attempt to re-take Naro-Fominsk 28 October 1941 have failed. The division remained in Naro-Fominsk area until end of November 1941. *29 January 1942, the division liberated the village of

Myatlevo Myatlevo is a town in the Kaluga Oblast of Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally reco ...

in cooperation with the 415th Rifle Division during the winter counteroffensive in front of Moscow.Soviet General Staff, ''The Battle of Moscow 1941-1942'', ed. & trans. R. W. Harrison, Helion & Co., Ltd., Solihull, UK, 2015, Kindle ed., part V, ch. 8 *In 1942, the 1st Guards Moscow Motor Rifle Division was participating in Battle of Rzhev. *In July 1943, the 1st Guards Rifle Division was participating in

Operation Kutuzov Operation Kutuzov was the first of the two counteroffensives launched by the Red Army as part of the Kursk Strategic Offensive Operation. It commenced on 12 July 1943, in the Central Russian Upland, against Army Group Center of the German '' He ...

, in October 1943 - in

Bryansk Bryansk ( rus, Брянск, p=brʲansk) is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and the administrative center of Bryansk Oblast, Russia, situated on the Desna (river), River Desna, southwest of Moscow. Population: Geography Urban la ...

offensive, and in December 1943 - in

Haradok Haradok ( be, Гарадок, - russian: Городок, Gorodok, pl, Horodek) is a town in the Vitebsk Region of Belarus with the population of 34,700 people. Approximately 14,000 people reside in the town itself around 30,000 people reside w ...

offensive. *In January–July 1944, the 1st Guards Rifle Division was advancing in

Vitebsk Vitebsk or Viciebsk (russian: Витебск, ; be, Ві́цебск, ; , ''Vitebsk'', lt, Vitebskas, pl, Witebsk), is a city in Belarus. The capital of the Vitebsk Region, it has 366,299 inhabitants, making it the country's fourth-largest c ...

Minsk Minsk ( be, Мінск ; russian: Минск) is the capital and the largest city of Belarus, located on the Svislach (Berezina), Svislach and the now subterranean Nyamiha, Niamiha rivers. As the capital, Minsk has a special administrative stat ...

direction with heavy fighting, and was awarded 'Minsk' honorific 13 July 1944. *In November 1944, the division invaded

East Prussia East Prussia ; german: Ostpreißen, label= Low Prussian; pl, Prusy Wschodnie; lt, Rytų Prūsija was a province of the Kingdom of Prussia from 1773 to 1829 and again from 1878 (with the Kingdom itself being part of the German Empire from 187 ...

in Gusev area, and finally stormed

Königsberg Königsberg (, ) was the historic Prussian city that is now Kaliningrad, Russia. Königsberg was founded in 1255 on the site of the ancient Old Prussian settlement ''Twangste'' by the Teutonic Knights during the Northern Crusades, and was ...

in April 1945. *21-26 April 1945, the 1st Guards Rifle Division ended the war by storming

Baltiysk Baltiysk (russian: Балти́йск; german: Pillau; Old Prussian: ''Pillawa''; pl, Piława; lt, Piliava; Yiddish: פּילאַווע, ''Pilave'') is a seaport town and the administrative center of Baltiysky District in Kaliningrad Oblast, R ...

as part of 11th Guards Army of the 3rd Belorussian Front.

Post war

The division was for all of the post-war period stationed in

Kaliningrad Kaliningrad ( ; rus, Калининград, p=kəlʲɪnʲɪnˈɡrat, links=y), until 1946 known as Königsberg (; rus, Кёнигсберг, Kyonigsberg, ˈkʲɵnʲɪɡzbɛrk; rus, Короле́вец, Korolevets), is the largest city and ...

. It formed part of the

11th Guards Army The 11th Guards Army () was a field army of the Red Army, the Soviet Ground Forces, and the Russian Ground Forces, active from 1943 to 1997. History World War II For its prowess in battle, the second formation of the 16th Army was redesignat ...

. It became the 1st Guards Moscow MRD (again) in 1957. Of the regiments of the war period, the 171st Guards was eliminated, but instead in March 1959 came the 12th Guards Motorised Rifle Regiment. Virtually all of the time the division was truncated (serving as a low-strength cadre formation).Michael Holm
1st Guards Motorised Rifle Division
2015. For much of the 1990s the division 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 2009-10, was reduced yet again, this time renamed as the 7th Independent "Proletarian Moscow-Minsk" Guards Motorized Rifle Regiment of the Baltic Fleet (russian: отдельный гвардейский Пролетарский Московско-Минский ордена Ленина дважды Краснознаменный орденов Суворова и Кутузова мотостерлковый полк БФ).

Notes

References

*Poirier and Connor, The Red Army Order of Battle *

External links

{{Soviet Union divisions G001 Infantry divisions of Russia Military units and formations established in 1926 Military units and formations disestablished in 2002