The 110th Rifle Division was a

formation Formation may refer to: Linguistics * Back-formation, the process of creating a new lexeme by removing or affixes * Word formation, the creation of a new word by adding affixes Mathematics and science * Cave formation or speleothem, a secondary ...

of the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Republic and, from 1922, the Soviet Union. The army was established in January 1918 by a decree of the Council of People ...

during the course of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, which was formed, dissolved, and re-formed three times throughout the war.

History

First formation

The division was first formed 20 September 1939 at Sverdlovsk in the

Urals Military District The Ural Mountains ( ),; , ; , or simply the Urals, are a mountain range in Eurasia that runs north–south mostly through Russia, from the coast of the Arctic Ocean to the river Ural (river), Ural and northwestern Kazakhstan.

. Its primary order of battle included: * 394th, 411th, 425th Rifle Regiments * 355th Light Artillery Regiment * 457th Antiaircraft Battalion Mobilized before the beginning of

Operation Barbarossa Operation Barbarossa was the invasion of the Soviet Union by Nazi Germany and several of its European Axis allies starting on Sunday, 22 June 1941, during World War II. More than 3.8 million Axis troops invaded the western Soviet Union along ...

, by June 1941 the division formed part of the

61st Rifle Corps The 61st Rifle Corps (Russian: 61-й стрелковый корпус '' '') was a Red Army infantry corps during World War II, formed twice. The 61st Rifle Corps was formed firmed in Tula during September 1939. After Operation Barbarossa, it was ...

in the 20th Army, in the

Reserve of the Supreme High Command The Reserve of the Supreme High Command (Russian: Резерв Верховного Главнокомандования; also known as the '' Stavka'' Reserve or RVGK () or RGK ( comprises reserve military formations and units; the ''Stavka'' ...

(''

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

'' Reserve) around

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

, the 20th

Army An army, ground force or land force is an armed force that fights primarily on land. In the broadest sense, it is the land-based military branch, service branch or armed service of a nation or country. It may also include aviation assets by ...

occupying a defensive position around

Kaluga Kaluga (, ) is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and the administrative center of Kaluga Oblast, Russia. It stands on the Oka River southwest of Moscow. Its population was 337,058 at the 2021 census. Kaluga's most famous residen ...

. The division was destroyed with its corps during the Siege of Mogilev in July 1941. The division was officially disbanded on 19 September 1941.

Second formation

On 4 September 1941, the 4th

People's Militia Rifle Division, which had originally been raised in the Kuibyshev district of Moscow in July 1941, was renumbered as the new 110th Rifle Division, beginning its second formation. Its composition changed to regular army subunits to include: * 1287th, 1289th, 1291st Rifle Regiments * 971st Artillery Regiment * 695th Antiaircraft Battalion * 470th Reconnaissance Company * 859th Signal Battalion * 493rd Medical/Sanitation Battalion * 332nd Chemical Defence Company * 329th Auto-transport Company It was assigned as part of the 24th, 49th, 21st, and 33rd Armies, participating in the defensive and offensive operations around Moscow –

Operation Mars Operation Mars (Russian: Операция «Марс»), also known as the Second Rzhev-Sychevka Offensive Operation (Russian: Вторая Ржевско-Сычёвская наступательная операция), was the codename f ...

at the end of 1942 as part of the Red Army's Kalinin Front, and later in 1943 the Rzhev-Vyazma offensives, and the Orel offensive operation (

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 ''Ger ...

), after the

Battle of Kursk The Battle of Kursk, also called the Battle of the Kursk Salient, was a major World War II Eastern Front battle between the forces of Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union near Kursk in southwestern Russia during the summer of 1943, resulting in ...

. From the Rzhev battles to October 1944, the division was commanded by Major General Georgy Borisovich Peters, its former deputy commander. On 10 April 1943, the 110th Rifle Division was renamed the

84th Guards Rifle Division The 84th Guards Rifle Division was reformed as an elite infantry division of the Red Army in April 1943, based on the 2nd formation of the 110th Rifle Division (Soviet Union), 110th Rifle Division, and served in that role until after the end of the ...

Third formation

The third formation of the division was on 5 May 1943, with the same unit numbers as the second formation. On 6 April 1945, commanded by Colonel Sergey Mikhailovich Tarasov, it participated in the encirclement of

Königsberg Königsberg (; ; ; ; ; ; , ) is the historic Germany, German and Prussian name of the city now called Kaliningrad, Russia. The city was founded in 1255 on the site of the small Old Prussians, Old Prussian settlement ''Twangste'' by the Teuton ...

, located at the northern sector. In that assault, the division was accompanied by its two sister divisions of

69th Rifle Corps The 69th Rifle Corps was a corps of the Soviet Red Army. It was part of the 20th Army. It took part in the Great Patriotic War. Organization * 73rd Rifle Division * 229th Rifle Division * 233rd Rifle Division Commanders * Major General Y ...

, 50th Army: the 153rd Rifle Division, on its right flank, and the 324th Rifle Division on its left flank. The division moved to the

Kharkov Military District The Kharkov Military District () was a military district of the Russian Empire, the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, and the Soviet Union. Throughout its history, the district headquarters was located in the city of Kharkov in northeast ...

Luhansk Oblast Luhansk Oblast (; ), also referred to as Luhanshchyna (), is the easternmost Administrative divisions of Ukraine, oblast (province) of Ukraine. Its administrative center is the city of Luhansk. The oblast was established in 1938 and bore the n ...

postwar and was disbanded with the corps on or around 6 May 1946.Feskov et al 2013, p. 477

References

Sources

* * Glantz, David M., ''Stumbling Colossus: The Red Army of the eve of World War.'' University Press of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas, 1998.
Generals.dk
General Major Georgii Borisovich Peters (1897–1978) was the deputy commander and later commanding officer of 110th Rifle Division in 1942-44, including after its renaming as the 84th Guards Koracheyev Rifle Division. * Bonn, Keith E., ''Slaughterhouse: The Handbook of the Eastern Front'', Aberjona Press, Bedford PA, 2005 * Grylev, A., Gen. Maj., ''Perecheni No.5 of the General Staff: Rifle, mountain, motor-rifle and motorised divisions included in the active army during the years of the Great Patriotic War 1941-1945'', Military-scientific directorate of the General Staff, Moscow, 1970, via www.soldat.ru
Perechen
verified 4 June 2008. * pp. 152-53 {{Use dmy dates, date=June 2017