The 38th Rifle Division (38-я стрелковая дивизия) was an

infantry division A division is a large military unit or formation, usually consisting of between 6,000 and 25,000 soldiers. In most armies, a division is composed of several regiments or brigades; in turn, several divisions typically make up a corps. Histo ...

of the Soviet Union's

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 ...

during World War II. Formed in 1918 as the 2nd Don Infantry Division. In February 1919, as part of the 1st Army, the Division took part in the fighting in the Urals and Bashkiria against the troops of Ataman

Alexander Dutov Alexander Ilyich Dutov () (, Kazalinsk, Russian Empire – 7 February 1921, Shuiding, China) was one of the leaders of the Cossack counterrevolution in the Urals, lieutenant general (1919). Dutov was born in Kazalinsk in Syr-Darya Oblast (now Ka ...

. In 1920, it ensured the delivery of its troops from the Caucasus forest in Donbass. Then, as part of the 13th Army it led the fighting against the army of General Wrangel. Since October 1920 Division was fighting against Makhno gangs. In June 1922 it was renamed the 9th Don Rifle Division. In 1930, the division became part of the

North Caucasus Military District The North Caucasus Military District was a military district of the Russian Armed Forces, which became in 2010 the Southern Military District and lately also included the Black Sea Fleet and Caspian Flotilla. It comprised the Republic of Adygeya, ...

. Headquartered in

Rostov-on-Don Rostov-on-Don ( rus, Ростов-на-Дону, r=Rostov-na-Donu, p=rɐˈstof nə dɐˈnu) is a port city and the administrative centre of Rostov Oblast and the Southern Federal District of Russia. It lies in the southeastern part of the Eas ...

, the division included units in

Novocherkassk Novocherkassk (russian: Новочерка́сск, lit. ''New Cherkassk'') is a city in Rostov Oblast, Russia, located near the confluence of the Tuzlov and Aksay Rivers, the latter a distributary of the Don River. Novocherkassk is best known as ...

Taganrog Taganrog ( rus, Таганрог, p=təɡɐnˈrok) is a port city in Rostov Oblast, Russia, on the north shore of the Taganrog Bay in the Sea of Azov, several kilometers west of the mouth of the Don River. Population: History of Taganrog Th ...

, and

Zernograd Zernograd (russian: Зерногра́д, literally "Grain town") is a town and the administrative center of Zernogradsky District in Rostov Oblast, Russia, located southeast of Rostov-on-Don, the administrative center of the oblast. Population: ...

. The division was renumbered as the 38th Don Red Banner Morozovsk-Donetsk Rifle Division named for A. I. Mikoyan in 1936. In August and September 1939 the 158th and 171st Rifle Divisions were formed from regiments of the division. In June 1941 it became part of the 19th Army, formed in the North Caucasus Military District under General Lieutenant Ivan Koniev. It was wiped out at Vyazma in October 1941. Recreated at Alma Ata in January 1942, fought at Stalingrad and became

73rd Guards Rifle Division The 73rd Guards Rifle Division was reformed as an elite infantry division of the Red Army in March 1943, based on the 2nd formation of the 38th Rifle Division, and served in that role until after the end of the Great Patriotic War. As the 38th it ...

in March 1943. Created again at

Kutaisi Kutaisi (, ka, ქუთაისი ) is one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world and the third-most populous city in Georgia, traditionally, second in importance, after the capital city of Tbilisi. Situated west of Tbil ...

4.43, fought on the Dnieper River and at Targul Frumos. While with

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 ...

, took part in the

Battle of Debrecen The Battle of Debrecen, called by the Red Army the ''Debrecen Offensive Operation'', was a battle taking place 6–29 October 1944 on the Eastern Front in Hungary during World War II. The offensive was conducted by the 2nd Ukrainian Front ...

in October 1944. With

2nd Ukrainian Front The 2nd Ukrainian Front (2-й Украинский фронт), was a front of the Red Army during the Second World War. History On October 20, 1943 the Steppe Front was renamed the 2nd Ukrainian Front. During the Second Jassy–Kishinev ...

5.45. The division was disbanded in the summer of 1945 in the

Southern Group of Forces Southern may refer to: Businesses * China Southern Airlines, airline based in Guangzhou, China * Southern Airways, defunct US airline * Southern Air, air cargo transportation company based in Norwalk, Connecticut, US * Southern Airways Express, ...

.Feskov et al 2013, p. 146

Notes

References

*Robert G. Poirier and Albert Z. Conner, The Red Army Order of Battle in the Great Patriotic War, Novato: Presidio Press, 1985. .

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Further reading