The 118th Rifle Division was thrice formed as an infantry division of the
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 ...
, first as part of the prewar buildup of forces. The first formation was based on the ''shtat'' (
table of organization and equipment
A table of organization and equipment (TOE or TO&E) is the specified organization, staffing, and equipment of Military unit, military units. Also used in acronyms as 'T/O' and 'T/E'. It also provides information on the mission and capabilities of ...
) of September 13, 1939. It was based at
Kostroma
Kostroma (, ) is a historic city and the administrative center of Kostroma Oblast, Russia. A part of the Golden Ring of Russian cities, it is located at the confluence of the rivers Volga and Kostroma. In the 2021 census, the population is 267, ...
through its early existence. After the German invasion in June 1941 it was rushed to the front as part of the
41st Rifle Corps and arrived at the
Pskov
Pskov ( rus, Псков, a=Ru-Псков.oga, p=psˈkof; see also Names of Pskov in different languages, names in other languages) is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, city in northwestern Russia and the administrative center of Pskov O ...
Fortified Area between July 2–4. Under pressure from the
4th Panzer Group
The 4th Panzer Army (), operating as Panzer Group 4 () from its formation on 15 February 1941 to 1 January 1942, was a German panzer formation during World War II. As a key armoured component of the Wehrmacht, the army took part in the crucial ...
the division commander, Maj. Gen. Nikolai Mikhailovich Glovatsky, requested permission on July 8 to retreat east across the
Velikaya River
The Velikaya () is a river in Novosokolnichesky, Pustoshkinsky, Sebezhsky, Opochetsky, Pushkinogorsky, Ostrovsky, Palkinsky, and Pskovsky Districts of Pskov Oblast, as well as in the city of Pskov in Russia. It is the largest tributary o ...
. There is some question if he received written orders and in any case the retreat fell into chaos due to a prematurely-blown bridge. Glovatskii was arrested on July 19, sentenced to death a week later and shot on August 3. The battered division had by then moved north to
Gdov
Gdov () is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, town and the administrative center of Gdovsky District in Pskov Oblast, Russia, located on the river Gdovka, just from its outflow into Lake Peipus. Population:
History
It was first menti ...
and came under command of
8th Army but could not be rebuilt due to a lack of replacements and on September 27 it was disbanded.
A new division began forming in the
Gorki Oblast of Moscow Military District in January 1942 based on the ''shtat'' of December 6, 1941 and was soon numbered as the second formation of the 118th. It spent a full six months in formation and training before it was assigned to the
31st Army in
Western Front. It was soon committed to action in the summer offensive to eliminate the German forces in the
Rzhev
Rzhev ( rus, Ржев, p=ˈrʐɛf) is a town in Tver Oblast, Russia, located southwest of Staritsa and from Tver, on the highway and railway connecting Moscow and Riga. It is the uppermost town situated on the Volga River. Population:
Hist ...
Sychyovka area and contributed to the liberation of
Zubtsov
Zubtsov () is a town and the administrative center of Zubtsovsky District in Tver Oblast, Russia, located at the confluence of the Volga and Vazuza Rivers, south of Tver, the administrative center of the oblast. Population: 8,100 (1998 est.) ...
in late August. The division saw limited action in Operation Mars in November–December and in March 1943 was one of the first units to enter Rzhev as it was evacuated by German
9th Army. The division had performed well enough that it was redesignated as the
85th Guards Rifle Division
The 85th Guards Rifle Division was reformed as an elite infantry division of the Red Army in April 1943, based on the 2nd formation of the 118th Rifle Division, and served in that role until after the end of the Great Patriotic War. Late during the ...
in April, serving under the
10th Guards Army.
The third 118th Rifle Division was raised in mid-May 1943 in
Southern Front under the ''shtat'' of December 10, 1942, based on a rifle brigade. It was immediately assigned to
28th Army and remained under that headquarters until November, fighting through the
Donbas
The Donbas (, ; ) or Donbass ( ) is a historical, cultural, and economic region in eastern Ukraine. The majority of the Donbas is occupied by Russia as a result of the Russo-Ukrainian War.
The word ''Donbas'' is a portmanteau formed fr ...
and towards the lower Dniepr and winning a battle honor following the protracted battle for
Melitopol
Melitopol is a city and municipality in Zaporizhzhia Oblast, southeastern Ukraine. It is situated on the Molochna River, which flows through the eastern edge of the city into the Molochnyi Lyman estuary. Melitopol is the second-largest city ...
in late October. After an abortive attempt to force its way into the Crimea it was transferred to the
9th Rifle Corps
The 9th Rifle Corps was a corps of the Red Army. Located in Simferopol during the beginning of the war in the east.
History
The corps headquarters was formed in accordance with orders of the North Caucasus Military District of 6 June and 26 Aug ...
of
5th Shock Army
The 5th Shock Army was a Red Army field army of World War II. The army was formed on 9 December 1942 by redesignating the 10th Reserve Army. The army was formed two times prior to this with neither formation lasting more than a month before bein ...
and then moved to
57th Army with that Corps in the spring of 1944. After the Soviet offensive stalled along the Dniestr River the division was moved to 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'' ...
in June before being reassigned to the
5th Guards Army
The 5th Guards Army was a Soviet Guards formation which fought in many critical actions during World War II under the command of General Aleksey Semenovich Zhadov. The 5th Guards Army was formed in spring 1943 from the 66th Army in recognition o ...
where it mostly served in the
34th Guards Rifle Corps for the duration of the war. In early August it entered the
Sandomierz
Sandomierz (pronounced: ; , ) is a historic town in south-eastern Poland with 23,863 inhabitants (), situated on the Vistula River near its confluence with the San, in the Sandomierz Basin. It has been part of Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship (Holy ...
bridgehead across the Vistula and remained there until the start of the Vistula-Oder Offensive in January 1945 when it broke out and advanced through Poland and into Germany with the rest of
1st Ukrainian Front
The 1st Ukrainian Front (), previously the Voronezh Front (), was a major formation of the Red Army during World War II, being equivalent to a Western army group. They took part in the capture of Berlin, the capital of Nazi Germany.
Wartime ...
. During the Berlin operation the 5th Guards advanced toward
Dresden
Dresden (; ; Upper Saxon German, Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; , ) is the capital city of the States of Germany, German state of Saxony and its second most populous city after Leipzig. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, 12th most p ...
and following the German surrender the 118th was awarded the
Order of the Red Banner
The Order of the Red Banner () was the first Soviet military decoration. The Order was established on 16 September 1918, during the Russian Civil War by decree of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee. It was the highest award of S ...
for its part in the late April battles southeast of that city. The division was disbanded in 1946.
1st Formation
The division began forming at Kostroma in the
Moscow Military District
The Order of Lenin Moscow Military District () is a Military districts of Russia, military district of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation. Originally it was a district of the Imperial Russian Army until the Russian Empire's collapse in 191 ...
according to a decree of the
Council of People's Commissars of the Soviet Union
The Council of People's Commissars of the Soviet Union was the highest collegial body of executive and administrative authority of the Soviet Union from 1923 to 1946.
As the government of the Soviet Union, the Council of People's Commissars of ...
dated July 6, 1940. It was a successor to an earlier unit of the same number that began forming in September 1939 at
Novocherkassk
Novocherkassk () is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, city in Rostov Oblast, Russia, located near the confluence of the Tuzlov and Aksay Rivers, the latter a distributary of the Don (river), Don River. Novocherkassk is best known as the ...
but was never completed and was disbanded in December. As of June 1941 it had the following order of battle:
* 398th Rifle Regiment
* 463rd Rifle Regiment
* 527th Rifle Regiment
* 604th Light Artillery Regiment
* 621st Howitzer Artillery Regiment
* 191st Antitank Battalion
* 472nd Antiaircraft Battalion
* 132nd Reconnaissance Battalion
* 282nd Sapper Battalion
* 283rd Signal Battalion
* 259th Medical/Sanitation Battalion
* 260th Chemical Defense (Anti-gas) Company
* 663rd Motor Transport Battalion
* 422nd Field Bakery
* 521st Field Postal Station
* 439th Field Office of the State Bank
Major General Nikolai Glovatsky was appointed to command on July 16. He had been in command of the
26th Rifle Division
The 26th Rifle Division was a rifle division in the Soviet Red Army during the Russian Civil War, World War II and the Cold War. The division was formed on 3 November 1918 on the Eastern Front (China Border), sent to the Soviet-German Front in Au ...
until March 1938 when he was arrested during the latter stage of the
Great Purge
The Great Purge, or the Great Terror (), also known as the Year of '37 () and the Yezhovshchina ( , ), was a political purge in the Soviet Union that took place from 1936 to 1938. After the Assassination of Sergei Kirov, assassination of ...
and imprisoned until October 1939. He then served as deputy commander of the
43rd Rifle Corps The 43rd Army Corps (Military Unit Number 16460) was a corps of the Soviet Army from 1945 to 1989. The corps was first formed as the 137th Rifle Corps in late 1945 and became the 43rd Rifle Corps (Second Formation) in 1955. The corps was redesignate ...
until his appointment to the 118th. When the German invasion began the division was assigned to the 41st Rifle Corps and within days was aboard trains moving toward Leningrad. After delays owing to German air attacks and the general chaos of the time the Corps (which also included the
111th and
235th Rifle Divisions) detrained north and west of Pskov during the first days of July where it was assigned to
11th Army in
Northwestern Front
The Northwestern Front (Russian: ''Северо-Западный фронт'') was a military formation of the Red Army during the Winter War and World War II. It was operational with the 7th and 13th Armies during the Winter War. It was re-c ...
.
[Sharp, ''"Red Legions"'', p. 59]
Defense of Pskov
After falling back from the frontier with its surviving forces on June 25 Northwestern Front began attempting to establish a defense along the
Western Dvina River
The Daugava ( ), also known as the Western Dvina or the Väina River, is a large river rising in the Valdai Hills of Russia that flows through Belarus and Latvia into the Gulf of Riga of the Baltic Sea. The Daugava rises close to the source of t ...
but this was preempted the next morning when the
8th Panzer and
3rd Motorized Divisions arrived along its banks and by nightfall seized a significant bridgehead. Heavy fighting raged in the
Daugavpils
Daugavpils (see also other names) is a state city in southeastern Latvia, located on the banks of the Daugava River, from which the city derives its name. The parts of the city to the north of the river belong to the historical Latvian region ...
region until June 30 but the bridgehead was held. With no major defensive barrier remaining to protect the axis towards Leningrad the Front commander had ordered his 8th Army to withdraw northward into Estonia and the 11th and
27th Armies to fall back eastward to
Opochka
Opochka () is a town and the administrative center of Opochetsky District in Pskov Oblast, Russia, located on the Velikaya River, south of Pskov, the administrative center of the oblast. Population:
History
It was founded in 1414. At the t ...
. These moves left the Pskov and
Ostrov axis virtually unprotected.
On June 29 the ''STAVKA'' ordered the new commander of Northwestern Front, Maj. Gen.
P. P. Sobennikov, to organize new defenses along the Velikaya River near Ostrov (the former
Stalin Line) anchored to the Pskov and Ostrov Fortified Areas and to reinforce these defenses with the 41st Rifle Corps, commanded by Maj. Gen.
Ivan Kosobutsky. On July 2 the
OKH
The (; abbreviated OKH) was the high command of the Army of Nazi Germany. It was founded in 1935 as part of Adolf Hitler's rearmament of Germany. OKH was ''de facto'' the most important unit within the German war planning until the defeat ...
ordered Army Group North to advance with its main force through Pskov to Leningrad with 4th Panzer Group leading. The
1st Panzer Division captured Ostrov on July 4, piercing the former Stalin Line defenses. At the same time the
6th Panzer Division
The 6th Panzer Division () was an armoured division in the German Army, the ''Heer'', during World War II, established in October 1939.
The division, initially formed as a light brigade, participated in the invasions of Poland, Belgium, France ...
crushed the Soviet defenses along the Velikaya south of Pskov, largely due to the delayed arrival of the divisions of 41st Corps; as of that morning although 20 of the trains carrying the 118th had unloaded, two were still ''en route''.
While senior German officers argued over future strategy and their forces struggled to overcome the swampy terrain on both sides of the Velikaya the
XXXXI Motorized Corps fended off heavy Soviet counterattacks at Ostrov on July 6–7 and the following day captured Pskov, utterly compromising the remaining Stalin Line defenses and largely isolating the 111th and 118th Divisions on the west bank. On the night of July 8 General Glovatsky twice requested permission from Kosobutsky by phone to pull back across the river. This was granted on the second attempt, but Glovatsky did not get the order in writing and Kosobutsky failed to inform him that two regiments of the 111th were to withdraw over the same bridge. As the two divisions converged they became intermixed and command and control were lost. Further, as the retreat was underway an engineering officer of the 111th, without authorization or immediate threat, ordered the bridge destroyed. Up to two regiments of each rifle division were forced to cross the Velikaya using improvised means under German fire, at considerable cost. On July 16 Kosobutsky was arrested for unauthorized withdrawal from positions and sentenced to 10 years imprisonment although in the event he would be released in October 1942 and return to corps command.
Glovatsky was in turn arrested on July 19 and faced a tribunal in Leningrad on the 26th. Because he had no written order to justify his withdrawal and Kosobutskii denied having given him the order verbally he was condemned to death and executed by firing squad on August 3. He was one of two general officers in command of rifle divisions to suffer this fate during the war (the other being Maj. Gen. S. G. Galaktionov of the
30th Mountain Rifle Division). Glovatsky remained on the books as commander of the 118th until Col.
Afanasy Safronov took over on August 20. Glovatskii would be officially
rehabilitated in 1958.
Approaches to Leningrad
On July 4 the Red Army's chief of staff, Army Gen.
G. K. Zhukov, had ordered the
Northern
Northern may refer to the following:
Geography
* North
North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating ...
and Northwestern Fronts to begin construction of a new defense line along the
Luga River
The Luga () is a river in Novgorodsky and Batetsky Districts of Novgorod Oblast and Luzhsky, Volosovsky, Slantsevsky, and Kingiseppsky Districts of Leningrad Oblast of Russia. The river flows into the Luga Bay of the Gulf of Finland. It free ...
, roughly 100 km south of Leningrad. By July 14 the 118th had been assigned to the Luga Operational Group along with the rest of 41st Corps and assorted other units. However, in the confusion following the fall of Pskov the division had moved almost due north along the eastern shore of
Lake Peipus
Lake Peipus is the largest trans-boundary lake in Europe, lying on the international border between Estonia and Russia.
The lake is the fifth-largest in Europe after Lake Ladoga and Lake Onega (in Russia), Lake Vänern (in Sweden), and Lake ...
, eventually taking up positions near Gdov. In fighting with the
58th Infantry Division from July 16–20 the 118th was surrounded and forced to break out, in part with the assistance of the Peipus Flotilla, and reached
Narva
Narva is a municipality and city in Estonia. It is located in the Ida-Viru County, at the Extreme points of Estonia, eastern extreme point of Estonia, on the west bank of the Narva (river), Narva river which forms the Estonia–Russia border, E ...
but lost 1,200 men taken prisoner in the process. As of August 1 it had been detached from 41st Corps and reassigned to the 8th Army in Northern Front.
German infantry forces occupied
Kingisepp
Kingisepp ( or ), formerly Yamburg (), Yam (), and Yama (; Votic language, Votic: Jaama), is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, town and the administrative center of Kingiseppsky District of Leningrad Oblast, Russia, located along the ...
on August 16 and forced the five rifle divisions of 8th Army defending the Kingisepp axis from the Narva region to the west bank of the Luga on August 21. The
18th Army's XXVI
26 (twenty-six) is the natural number following 25 and preceding 27.
In mathematics
*26 is the seventh discrete semiprime (2 \times 13) and the fifth with 2 as the lowest non-unitary factor thus of the form (2.q), where q is a higher prime.
...
and
XXVIII Army Corps attacked north toward the
Gulf of Finland
The Gulf of Finland (; ; ; ) is the easternmost arm of the Baltic Sea. It extends between Finland to the north and Estonia to the south, to Saint Petersburg—the second largest city of Russia—to the east, where the river Neva drains into it. ...
from August 22–25. By September 1 the 8th Army had been forced to withdraw to new defenses forming a tight bridgehead south of
Oranienbaum, a bridgehead that Soviet forces would retain until 1944. The vigorous assault left 8th Army in a shambles. By September 9 the 118th had been reduced to a strength of only 3,025 personnel, 14
76mm regimental and
divisional guns, three
152mm howitzers, seven
heavy
Heavy may refer to:
Measures
* Heavy, a characterization of objects with substantial weight
* Heavy, a wake turbulence category used by pilots and air traffic controllers to refer to aircraft with a maximum takeoff mass of 136,000 kgs or mo ...
and 47
light machine guns
A light machine gun (LMG) is a light-weight machine gun designed to be operated by a single infantryman, with or without an assistant, as an infantry support weapon. LMGs firing cartridges of the same caliber as the other riflemen of the ...
; in addition almost all of its regimental and battalion commanders had been lost. On September 27 the division was disbanded.
Most of its remaining forces were transferred to the
48th Rifle Division when Colonel Safronov took command of that unit and would continue holding the Oranienbaum pocket into early 1944. Safronov was promoted to the rank of major general in September 1943 and would be mortally wounded in fighting along the
Narva River
The Narva, formerly also Narwa or Narova, flows north into the Baltic Sea and is the largest Estonian river by discharge. A similar length of land far to the south, together with it and a much longer intermediate lake, Lake Peipus, all togeth ...
on August 17, 1944, dying the following day.
From 1957-64 the successor unit to the 48th Rifle Division was designated as the 118th Motor Rifle Division.
2nd Formation
A new division began forming on January 18, 1942 in the Gorki Oblast of the Moscow Military District, formed from recruits from the
Kirov, Kostroma and
Yaroslavl Oblast
Yaroslavl Oblast is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject of Russia (an oblast), which is located in the Central Federal District, surrounded by the Tver Oblast, Tver, Moscow Oblast, Moscow, Ivanovo Oblast, Ivanovo, Vladimir Oblast, Vlad ...
s east of Moscow. Its order of battle remained similar to that of the 1st formation with several exceptions:
* 398th Rifle Regiment
* 463rd Rifle Regiment
* 527th Rifle Regiment
* 604th Artillery Regiment
* 191st Antitank Battalion
* 94th Antiaircraft Battery
* 132nd Reconnaissance Company
* 282nd Sapper Battalion
* 728th Signal Company (later 283rd Signal Battalion)
* 259th Medical/Sanitation Battalion
* 488th Chemical Defense (Anti-gas) Company
* 191st Motor Transport Company
* 403rd Field Bakery
* 866th Divisional Veterinary Hospital
* 1710th Field Postal Station
* 1049th Field Office of the State Bank
Lt. Col. Andrei Yakovlevich Vedenin was appointed to command the day the division began forming; he would be promoted to full colonel's rank on February 4. The 118th remained under the Moscow Military District, the
Moscow Defense Zone, and eventually the
4th Reserve Army of the Reserve of the Supreme High Command for a full six months for forming up and training until it was assigned to the 31st Army of Western Front on July 18.
First Rzhev–Sychyovka Offensive

In the planning for the summer offensive west of Moscow the 31st Army was one of four Soviet armies allocated from Western Front and
Kalinin Front
The Kalinin Front was a major formation of the Red Army active in the Eastern Front 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 ...
to strike the main blows to liberate Rzhev and Sychyovka and in the process encircle and destroy the main forces of German 9th Army. The intention was that Kalinin Front would attack on July 28, followed by Western Front on July 31, but in the even the latter was delayed until August 4. As of August 1 the 31st Army had seven rifle divisions under command plus four tank brigades and a substantial amount of artillery.
The offensive opened with a powerful artillery preparation which reportedly knocked out 80 percent of German weapons, after which the German defenses were penetrated on both sides of Pogoreloe Gorodishche and the 31st Army's mobile group rushed through the breaches towards Zubtsov. By the evening of August 6 the breach in the 9th Army's front had expanded up to 30 km wide and up to 25 km deep. The following day the ''STAVKA'' appointed General Zhukov to coordinate the offensives of Western and Kalinin Fronts; Zhukov proposed to liberate Rzhev with 31st and
30th Armies as soon as August 9. However, heavy German counterattacks, complicated by adverse weather, soon slowed the advance drastically. On August 23 the 31st Army, in concert with elements of the
29th Army, finally liberated Zubtsov. While this date is officially considered the end of the offensive in Soviet sources, in fact bitter fighting continued west of Zubtsov into mid-September. As of September 1 the 118th was under command of 29th Army. At dawn on September 8, the 29th and 31st Armies went on a determined offensive to seize the southern part of Rzhev. Despite resolute attacks through the following day against the German
161st Infantry Division they made little progress. After 31st Army suspended its attacks temporarily on September 16 the division returned to its command, and was one of three divisions on its right flank that resumed the assault on September 21–23 with similar lack of success. Over the course of the fighting from August 4 to September 15 the 31st Army suffered a total of 43,321 total losses in personnel.
Operation Mars and Rzhev-Vyazma Offensive
On September 13 Colonel Vedenin left command of the division, which was taken over the next day by Lt. Col. Nikolai Fyodorovich Sukharev. Vedenin returned on November 2 and led the 118th for the duration of its 2nd formation. In the planning for Operation Mars (Second Rzhev–Sychyovka Offensive), which began on November 25, the division was not given any prominent role. The three divisions of 31st Army which were allocated to attack were unable to penetrate the German defense in three days of costly fighting after which the entire Army went over to the defense. As part of a final bid to renew the offensive the 31st, 29th and
20th Armies attacked on December 11, but with no greater success before being shut down on the 18th.
In February 1943 the armies of Western and Kalinin Fronts began preparing for what would become the Rzhev-
Vyasma Offensive Operation. 31st Army was to be prepared to attack by February 20–21. In the event these plans were delayed and eventually superseded when German 9th Army launched
Operation Büffel
Operation Büffel ("Buffalo") was a series of local retreats conducted by the German Army Group Centre on the Eastern Front during the period 1–22 March 1943. This movement eliminated the Rzhev Salient and shortened the front by , releasing t ...
on March 1 and began its phased withdrawal from the salient, pursued by 31st and other armies through the rest of the month. On March 2 the 118th was the first division of Western Front to enter Rzhev. The official history of 31st Army describes how the operation unfolded after the Rzhev region was cleared and following several sharp engagements near Sychyovka:On March 22 reconnaissance discovered that the German
6th and
337th Infantry Divisions had occupied defenses along previously prepared lines at the base of the former salient with full-profile trenches, extensive minefields and barbed wire obstacles. Initial attacks penetrated the first trench line but could proceed no farther and the offensive stalled. On April 10, in recognition for its part in the liberation of Rzhev, the 118th was redesignated as the 85th Guards Rifle Division.
[Sharp, ''"Red Swarm"'', p. 44]
3rd Formation
On May 19 a new 118th Rifle Division began forming in the 28th Army of Southern Front, based on the 152nd Rifle Brigade.
152nd Rifle Brigade
The brigade was formed from December 1941 to February 1942 in the
South Urals Military District
The South Ural Military District (Russian: Южно-Уральский военный округ, ЮжУрВО; tr. Yuzhno-Uralsky Voyenny Okrug, YuzhUrVO) was a military administrative division of the Soviet Armed Forces that existed from 1 Dec ...
and was moved by rail to the Moscow Military District in May. In July it was assigned to the Moscow Defense Zone, but in August it again boarded trains, this time to
Astrakhan
Astrakhan (, ) is the largest city and administrative centre of Astrakhan Oblast in southern Russia. The city lies on two banks of the Volga, in the upper part of the Volga Delta, on eleven islands of the Caspian Depression, from the Caspian Se ...
at the mouth of the Volga as the German summer offensive rolled across the Caucasus region. There it joined the 28th Army of
Stalingrad Front
The Stalingrad Front was a front, a military unit encompassing several armies, of the Soviet Union's Red Army during the Second World War. The name indicated the primary geographical region in which the Front first fought, based on the city of St ...
in September which was defending the approaches to the lower Volga. When
Operation Uranus
Operation Uranus () was a Soviet 19–23 November 1942 strategic operation on the Eastern Front of World War II which led to the encirclement of Axis forces in the vicinity of Stalingrad: the German Sixth Army, the Third and Fourth Romani ...
began on November 1920 the Army began advancing toward
Elista
Elista (, ;"Большой энциклопедический словарь", под ред. А. М. Прохорова. Москва и Санкт-Петербург, 1997, стр. 1402 , ''Elst'', )The approximate pronunciation of the Cyr ...
, which was liberated on December 31 by the 152nd attacking from the north, the
248th Rifle Division
The 248th Rifle Division was formed in the Moscow Military District as a reserve infantry division of the Red Army just days after the German invasion of the USSR. It was based on the ''shtat'' (table of organization and equipment) of April 5, 1941 ...
from the south, plus the
34th Guards Rifle Division The 34th Guards Rifle Division was a rifle division of the Red Army during World War II.
History
The 34th Guards Rifle Division was originally formed on 29 August 1942 from the 7th Airborne Corps in the Moscow Military District. It was assigned ...
and the 6th Guards Tank Brigade from the east. In January 1943 it helped cover the south flank of
51st Army in a new offensive toward
Rostov-na-Donu
Rostov-on-Don 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 East European Plain on the Don River, from the Sea of Azov, directly north of t ...
. In the late winter and early spring the brigade advanced along the north shore of the
Gulf of Taganrog
Taganrog Bay (; ) is the northeastern arm of the Sea of Azov. It also may be perceived as a flooded estuary of the Don River.
Geography
The bay serves as a natural boundary between the Kuban coast line in Russia and the northern Azov littor ...
to the
Mius River line where it was disbanded to form the new 118th Division.
Col. Fyodor Grigorevich Dobrovolskii was appointed to command on the day the division began forming. At this time its personnel were noted as being 50 percent Russian, 20 percent Ukrainian, and 30 percent of several non-Slavic nationalities. Its order of battle remained as per the 2nd formation with the following exceptions:
* The artillery regiment was designated as the 117th Guards;
* there was no antiaircraft battalion or battery;
* the 283rd Signal Battalion would later be reorganized as the 728th Signal Company;
* the Field Postal Station was numbered the 1797th and the Field Office of the State Bank was numbered the 1754th.
As of June 1 the 118th was a separate division within the small 28th Army, which also consisted of the
271st Rifle Division
The 271st Rifle Division () was an infantry division of the Soviet Union's Red Army during World War II.
Formed in the summer of 1941, the division fought in the Crimean Campaign, during which it was destroyed and rebuilt twice. Designated an A ...
and the 1st Guards, 78th and 116th
Fortified Regions.
Into Ukraine

By the start of July the 118th and 271st Divisions had been subordinated to
55th Rifle Corps but the strength of 28th Army remained much the same as a month earlier. The new commander of Southern Front, Col. Gen.
F. I. Tolbukhin, was directed to plan a new offensive to breach the German front along the
Mius River
The Mius (; ) is a river in Eastern Europe that flows through Ukraine and Russia. It is long, and has a drainage basin of .Миус ...
which was held by the rebuilt but chronically understrength
6th Army. Tolbukhin chose to break the German defenses facing the center of his line with the
5th Shock and 28th Armies operating on a 16 km-wide sector with the
2nd Guards Army
The 2nd Guards Army was a field army of the Soviet Union's Red Army that fought in World War II, most notably at Stalingrad.
History
The 2nd Guards Army was formed according to the order of the Staff of the Supreme High Command (Stavka) from O ...
in second echelon ready to exploit any initial success. The offensive opened on July 17, within days of the suspension of the German offensive at Kursk. The 28th and 5th Shock forced the river but were soon met by German armor from the southern wing of Army Group South which first contained the bridgehead and at the end of the month launched a powerful counterblow with four panzer divisions, a panzergrenadier division and two infantry divisions. On the evening of August 1 Tolbukhin reported the situation to the ''STAVKA'' and received permission to withdraw his forces to their old positions. While he was downcast by what he considered a failure he was reassured by Marshal
A. M. Vasilevskii that the offensive had successfully diverted German strength from more important axes. By this time 28th Army had five divisions under command and the 118th was no longer under corps command.
Southern Front returned to the offensive on August 18, this time finally smashing the Mius-Front with the fire of over 5,000 guns and mortars on the German defenses. By the end of the month Tolbukhin's armies had taken
Taganrog
Taganrog (, ) is a port city in Rostov Oblast, Russia, on the north shore of Taganrog Bay in the Sea of Azov, several kilometers west of the mouth of the Don (river), Don River. It is in the Black Sea region. Population:
Located at the site of a ...
and Hitler finally authorized 6th Army, "if necessary", to pull back to the
Kalmius River. By this time the 118th was under command of the
37th Rifle Corps 37th may refer to:
*37th (Howitzer) Brigade Royal Field Artillery, a brigade of the Royal Field Artillery which served in the First World War
*37th (North Hampshire) Regiment of Foot, raised in Ireland in February 1702
* 37th (Northern Ontario) Bat ...
, along with the 248th and
347th Rifle Divisions. Through September and well into October Southern Front (as of October 20
4th Ukrainian Front
The 4th Ukrainian Front () was the name of two distinct Red Army strategic army groups that fought on the Eastern Front in World War II.
The front was first formed on 20 October 1943, by renaming the Southern Front and was involved in the Lower ...
) made slow progress against 6th Army from the Dniepr to the
Sea of Azov
The Sea of Azov is an inland Continental shelf#Shelf seas, shelf sea in Eastern Europe connected to the Black Sea by the narrow (about ) Strait of Kerch, and sometimes regarded as a northern extension of the Black Sea. The sea is bounded by Ru ...
with orders to destroy the German Melitopol grouping, seize crossings over the Dniepr and then shut the German
17th Army into the Crimea. The offensive made little progress until October 9 but by October 23, led by forces of the 51st Army, the Front finally ground its way into the city, and the division was awarded an honorific:At the start of October the division had been again a separate division in 28th Army. With Melitopol cleared the Front began a rapid advance through the Nogai Steppe to cut off the Crimea; the 51st Army was directed to seize the
Perekop Isthmus
The Isthmus of Perekop, literally Isthmus of the Trench (; transliteration: ''Perekops'kyi pereshyiok''; ; transliteration: ''Perekopskiy peresheek,'' , ; ; transliteration: ''Taphros''), is the narrow, wide strip of land that connects the Cr ...
while the 28th Army was to make a crossing at the
Chongar Peninsula.
Fighting for the Chongar Peninsula
As the Soviet advance began on October 24 the Chongar was virtually unguarded. Lt. Gen.
F. Köchling, who had recently arrived from Berlin to take over local command in Crimea, noticed the weakness and agreed to move his meagre forces to provide some defense there and at Perekop. The commander of the
336th Infantry Division, Maj. Gen. W. Kunze, established a blocking position at Salkove, at the northern entrance to the Chongar, with a battery of four
88mm flak guns and two companies of his antitank battalion, backed by just 100 infantrymen. The railway bridge was also mined for demolition. These measures were in place by October 28.
28th Army began to arrive at the eastern entrances to Crimea late in the afternoon of October 30 as Kunze continued to reinforce his position. Elements of the 347th Rifle Division brushed aside a unit of ''Luftwaffe'' field troops and began advancing down the
Arabat Spit
The Arabat Spit (; ; ) or Arabat Arrow is a spit (landform), barrier spit that separates the large, shallow, salty Syvash lagoons from the Sea of Azov. The spit runs between the Henichesk Strait in the north and the north-eastern shores of Crim ...
while the 118th appeared 1.5 km north of the Salkove position. Despite air and ground reconnaissance during the day and overnight the German force remained largely undetected. Around 0900 hours a column of 14-16 trucks approached Salkove, drove straight into the German fire zone, and was completely destroyed. Five hours passed before Colonel Dobrovolskii responded to this ambush by sending two rifle companies on foot, supported by mortars, against the blocking position, but the result was a desultory exchange of fire for the rest of the afternoon. The advance of the 347th Division on the Arabat was also stopped at about the same time, and this effectively ended 28th Army's attempt to force its way into Crimea from the march. During this fighting the 118th was assigned to the
67th Rifle Corps
The 67th Rifle Corps was a corps of the Red Army during World War II, formed twice.
First formation
The corps was formed in March 1940 in the Kharkov Military District with the 102nd Rifle Division, 132nd, and 151st Rifle Divisions, 194th S ...
. During November it was moved again, now to the
63rd Rifle Corps
The 63rd Rifle Corps was a corps of the Red Army during World War II, formed twice.
First formation
The corps headquarters was first formed during September 1939 in the Volga Military District. It was part of the 21st Army in June 1941, with th ...
of 5th Shock Army.
Battles in the Dniepr Bend
At the start of the new year 5th Shock commanded five rifle divisions and 63rd Corps consisted of the 118th and
267th Rifle Division
The 267th Rifle Division () was an infantry division of the Soviet Union's Red Army during World War II.
First formed in the summer of 1941, the division was destroyed in early 1942 during the Lyuban offensive operation of the siege of Lenin ...
s. On January 12 three armies of 4th Ukrainian, the 5th Shock, 28th and
3rd Guards, began a drive to eliminate the bridgehead south of
Nikopol held by the
IV and
XXIX Army Corps. This failed to do more than dent the German position and was stopped on the 16th. In a renewed effort on January 30 the Front pushed a deep wedge into the south end of the bridgehead toward
Bolshaya Lepatikha. As of February 1 the 118th was serving as a separate division in 5th Shock Army.
German 6th Army began to retreat from the bridgehead toward the
Ingulets River on February 4 with its last troops crossing the Dniepr three days later. The pursuit continued through the rest of the month largely due to deep mud conditions faced by both sides and 5th Shock reached Dudchino by March 1. The division was recorded at this time as having the same mix of nationalities among its personnel as when it was formed. During this advance the Army was transferred to the
3rd Ukrainian Front
The 3rd Ukrainian Front () was a Front of the Soviet Red Army during World War II.
It was founded on 20 October 1943, on the basis of a Stavka order of October 16, 1943, by renaming the Southwestern Front. It included 1st Guards Army, 8th Gua ...
and the 118th joined the 9th Rifle Corps. Under this command the division made an assault crossing of the
Southern Bug River in southern Ukraine on March 27.
First Jassy-Kishinev Offensive
As of April 1 the 9th Corps had been moved to the 57th Army, still in 3rd Ukrainian Front. The Corps also had the
230th and
301st Rifle Divisions under command. Overnight on April 10/11 the ''STAVKA'' ordered 3rd Ukrainian Front to mount a concerted offensive to reach the Soviet-Romanian state borders, forcing crossings of the Dniestr River. Early the next morning the 57th Army, on the Front's north flank, began pursuing disorganized German forces toward the river, with forward detachments from each corps in the lead, supported by small groups of tanks from the
23rd Tank Corps
The 23rd Budapest Red Banner Order of Suvorov Tank Corps was a tank corps of the Red Army during World War II.
It was part of the "operational army" or "active army" ( :ru:Действующая армия и флот) from April 12, 1942, to May ...
and the
96th Tank Brigade. Through the day these advanced up to 16 km to the west against only light resistance from 6th Army's
LII and
XXX Army Corps. 9th Corps was deployed on the Army's left (south) wing moving in the direction of
Varnița with the support of the 595th Tank Destroyer Regiment and several construction and engineering units. The Front had assigned an 18 km long sector of the Dniestr to 57th Army from
Butor
Butor (Moldovan Cyrillic, Russian, and ) is a commune in the Grigoriopol District of Transnistria, Moldova
Moldova, officially the Republic of Moldova, is a Landlocked country, landlocked country in Eastern Europe, with an area of and po ...
to Varnița with the objective of seizing a consolidated bridgehead along its length.
Forward detachments of the Corps' forces began reaching the east bank late on April 11 between
Bîcioc and Varnița. The XXX Army Corps defended this sector with remnants of its
384th and
257th Infantry Divisions. The Corps commander, Maj. Gen.
Ivan Rosly
Ivan Pavlovich Rosly (; 28 June 1902 – 15 October 1980) was a Soviet Army lieutenant general and a Hero of the Soviet Union who held division, army and corps command during World War II.
Early life and prewar service
A Russian, Ivan Pavlovich ...
, wrote in his memoirs:Roslyi's riflemen gathered up local materials, including wood, furniture and even wooden doors from nearby buildings to construct rafts and makeshift boats. The 118th captured the northern portion of
Parcani and also managed to secure a small foothold on the western bank, but German resistance was stiffening. The 301st and 230th Divisions made additional gains early on April 13 at Hill 65.3 and Varnița and the 118th kept pace, but by then the nature of the battle changed as German artillery fire and airstrikes struck the Corps' forward positions continually and regrouped infantry began counterattacks to drive Roslyi's men back into the river. The objective had not been met and the Corps was left holding a set of shallow bridgeheads dominated from high ground to the west. On April 14 the Front ordered 57th Army to go over to the defense, where it remained until the offensive was renewed in August.
Lvov–Sandomierz Offensive
On May 10 Colonel Dobrovolskii handed his command to Maj. Gen. Mikhail Afanasevich Sukhanov, who would lead the division into the postwar. In June it went into the Reserve of the Supreme High Command where it was assigned to the 34th Guards Rifle Corps in the 5th Guards Army. With this Army the 118th returned to the front in the last days of July as part of
1st Ukrainian Front
The 1st Ukrainian Front (), previously the Voronezh Front (), was a major formation of the Red Army during World War II, being equivalent to a Western army group. They took part in the capture of Berlin, the capital of Nazi Germany.
Wartime ...
; it would remain under these commands for the duration of the war.
The Front had launched this offensive on July 13 but the Army did not enter the operation until early August. By the end of August 3 it had concentrated in the
Kolbuszowa
Kolbuszowa () is a small town in south-eastern Poland, with 88911 inhabitants (02.06.2009).
Situated in the Sandomierz Forest in the Subcarpathian Voivodship, it is the capital of Kolbuszowa County. Kolbuszowa belongs to historic Lesser Poland, ...
region and was ordered to exploit the
3rd Guards Tank and
13th Armies' crossings over the Vistula in the
Baranów Sandomierski
Baranów Sandomierski is a small town in southern Poland, in the Subcarpathian Voivodeship, Subcarpathian Voivodship, Tarnobrzeg County on the Vistula River, with 1,420 inhabitants as of December 2021. Baranów lies near the Vistula river, along ...
area. 5th Guards Army was to develop the offensive along the
Busko-Zdrój
Busko-Zdrój () is a spa town in Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship, southern Poland. It is the capital of Busko County. As of December 2021, it has a population of 15,310.
History
The origin of Busko goes back to the 12th century, when a group of sh ...
axis with the
32nd Guards Rifle Corps
3 (three) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 2 and preceding 4, and is the smallest odd prime number and the only prime preceding a square number. It has religious and cultural significance in many societies ...
and toward
Mielec
Mielec () is the largest city and County seat, seat of Mielec County. Mielec is located in south-eastern Poland (Lesser Poland), in the Subcarpathian Voivodeship (Województwo Podkarpackie). The population of Mielec in December 2021 was 59,509.
...
with the
33rd Guards Rifle Corps while the Army commander, Lt. Gen.
A. S. Zhadov, directed the 34th Guards Corps to remain in second echelon near Kolbuszowa. The Corps crossed in to the exiting bridgehead at Baranów throughout the day on August 6, followed by the balance of the Army during the following days. These fresh troops secured the bridgehead, led to the capture of
Sandomierz
Sandomierz (pronounced: ; , ) is a historic town in south-eastern Poland with 23,863 inhabitants (), situated on the Vistula River near its confluence with the San, in the Sandomierz Basin. It has been part of Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship (Holy ...
on August 18 and set the stage for a protracted battle against considerable German forces well into the autumn.
Into Poland and Germany
1st Ukrainian Front launched its part of the Vistula-Oder Offensive on January 12, 1945. 5th Guards Army was assigned a 6 km-wide breakthrough front, with up to 282 guns and mortars and 23 tanks and self-propelled guns per kilometre. The
4th Guards and
31st Tank Corps were to be committed on the first day to complete the breach of the German main defensive zone. The breakthrough and exploitation went largely as planned and by January 22 the Front's main group of forces, which included the 5th Guards Army, was arriving along the
Oder River
The Oder ( ; Czech and ) is a river in Central Europe. It is Poland's second-longest river and third-longest within its borders after the Vistula and its largest tributary the Warta. The Oder rises in the Czech Republic and flows through west ...
along a broad front in the general area of
Lissa, although the Army was lagging about 20 km behind, threatening the link between the main group and the left flank armies. In response the Army was redirected towards the Oder northwest of
Oppeln and reached there by day's end and captured the city the next day in cooperation with the 3rd Guards Tank and
21st Armies. The 34th Guards Corps, along with the 32nd and 33rd, were deployed in a single echelon and by January 28 had seized three substantial bridgeheads over the river.
Lower Silesian Offensive
On the night of January 30/31 the 55th Rifle Corps of
21st Army relieved 34th Guards Corps in its bridgehead between Oppeln and
Brieg. Beginning on February 8 the 5th Guards Army took part in the Front's Lower Silesian Offensive with its main objective of encircling the German garrison of
Breslau. On its sector the offensive was based on the bridgehead seized by
14th Guards Rifle Division in January. The German defense was based on the
269th Infantry Division with several battlegroups, independent battalions, two panzer battalions and an NCO school. The Army's attack was led by 32nd Guards Corps and developed slowly over the first three days. On February 11 the Front commander, Marshal
I. S. Konev, shifted the
31st Tank Corps from 21st Army and committed it on the sector of 33rd Guards Corps the next day with the immediate objective of capturing the Bogenau area. Over the next two days the 34th Guards Corps was committed from second echelon and advanced steadily.
On February 13 German resistance did not abate and if anything increased as further forces entered the Breslau area but despite this the
4th Guards and 31st Tank Corps linked up with the
7th Guards Mechanized Corps of
6th Army to complete the encirclement. Konev chose to leave 6th Army and 34th Guards Corps to maintain the siege while the 32nd and 33rd Guards Corps were ordered to make a decisive attack from the
Magnitz area toward
Koberwitz and then to the southwest. The 118th was directed out of the line in the Breslau area and, together with one antitank artillery regiment, to move by dawn on February 15 to the area south of
Kanth in order to prevent a German breakthrough to that town. As of the end of that day the cordon between the encircled forces and the main German forces had been widened to up to 13 km. By February 24 the remainder of 34th Guards Corps had taken out of the line in the Breslau area and the division had occupied the front from Raaben to
Mettkau.
Berlin Operation
In the planning for the Upper Silesian Offensive the 34th Guards Corps was to reinforce 21st Army as part of the Oppeln group of forces, along with 4th Tank Army and 4th Guards Tank Corps. The 34th Guards and 4th Guards Tanks would attack in the direction of Priborn to support the shock group of 21st Army and reach
Munsterberg by the end of the second day. Before operation began on March 15 the 118th had been replaced by the
112th Rifle Division from 6th Army, and had been reassigned to the 33rd Guards Corps, which did not take part in the offensive.
By the start of the final offensive against the German capital the 33rd Guards Corps consisted of the
78th Guards Rifle Division, the
9th Guards Airborne Division and the 118th. 5th Guards Army was deployed along the east bank of the
Neisse River
The Lusatian Neisse (; ; ; Upper Sorbian: ''Łužiska Nysa''; Lower Sorbian: ''Łužyska Nysa''), or Western Neisse, is a river in northern Central Europe. on a 13 km front and planned to launch its main attack with its right wing on the 8 km sector from Gross Saerchen to
Muskau
Bad Muskau (; formerly ''Muskau'', , , ) is a spa town in the historic Upper Lusatia region in eastern Germany, at the border with Poland. It is part of the Görlitz district in the State of Saxony.
It is located on the banks of the Lusatian Ne ...
. The 32nd and 34th Guards Corps were deployed in the first echelon while the 33rd Guards Corps was in second echelon, along with the 4th Guards Tank Corps. At this time the division, in common with most of those in the Army, had a personnel strength of roughly 5,200 men.
When the offensive began on April 16 the Army's main forces crossed the Neisse under the cover of massed artillery fire. By the end of the day the 33rd Guards Corps had concentrated in the area from Klein Zerchen to Kwolsdorf to Toepferstedt on the river's east bank. As the offensive continued the Army's right flank reached the
Spree River
Spree may refer to: Film and television
* '' The Spree'', a 1998 American television film directed by Tommy Lee Wallace
* ''Spree'' (film), a 2020 American film starring Joe Keery
* "Spree" (''Numbers''), an episode of the television show ''Numb ...
by the end of April 18 but the Corps remained in its second echelon, now in the area of
Jamlitz. The next day the Corps was committed along the
Spremberg
Spremberg or Grodk (, ; Polish: ''Gródek'' ) is a municipality near the Saxon city of Hoyerswerda and is in the Spree-Neiße district of Brandenburg, Germany.
First mentioned in 1301, the town alone has 14,028 inhabitants, and the municipalit ...
axis in the 32nd Guards Corps' sector and by evening all three divisions were fighting along the line from Graustein to Slamen in an effort to eliminate the German bridgehead east of this important resistance center. At 1100 hours on April 20, following a pair of 5-minute artillery preparations, the 118th and its corps-mates began the storm of Spremberg which concluded with an advance of 5–6 km by the end of the day.

On April 21 the Corps linked up with the 13th Army's
24th Rifle Corps
The 24th Rifle Corps was a corps of the Red Army. It was part of the 27th Army and took part in the Great Patriotic War. It appears to have been initially formed in the Kalinin Military District, around what is today Tver, in 1939. In 1940 it wa ...
in the Neu Welzow area, completing the encirclement of the German Spremberg grouping. About 5,000 men were killed in the pocket including elements of
''Panzer-Führerbegleitdivision'',
10th SS Panzer Division ''Frundsberg'' and
21st Panzer Division
The 21st Panzer Division was a German armoured division best known for its role in the battles of the North African Campaign from 1941 to 1943 during World War II when it was one of the two armoured divisions making up the Deutsches Afrikakorps ...
, plus 30 tanks and assault guns destroyed. Over the next two days a German force based on elements of 17th and 4th Panzer Armies launched a counteroffensive which broke through the
52nd Army's front along its boundary with the
2nd Polish Army and continued north in the general direction of Spremberg. To counter this effort, Konev ordered Zhadov to use the 33rd Guards Corps and the 14th Guards Division to attack towards Losa and Ugist (north of
Bautzen
Bautzen () or Budyšin (), until 1868 ''Budissin'' in German, is a town in eastern Saxony, Germany, and the administrative centre of the Bautzen (district), district of Bautzen. It is located on the Spree (river), Spree river, is the eighth most ...
) and reestablish contact with the Poles. This effort brought the German attack to a halt by the end of April 24. In the course of this complicated fighting the 118th was transferred back to the 34th Guards Corps.
During April 27–30 the German group of forces in the
Görlitz
Görlitz (; ; ; ; ; Lusatian dialects, East Lusatian: , , ) is a town in the Germany, German state of Saxony. It is on the river Lusatian Neisse and is the largest town in Upper Lusatia, the second-largest town in the region of Lusatia after ...
area attempted to renew their counteroffensive but without success and finally went over to the defensive.
[Soviet General Staff, ''The Berlin Operation 1945'', Kindle ed., part II, ch. 19] From May 6–11 the 118th took part, with the rest of 1st Ukrainian Front, in the final offensive on Prague.
Postwar
The division ended the war north of Prague with the title ''118th Rifle, Melitopol Division''. (Russian: 118-я стрелковая Мелитопольская дивизия.) On June 4 the division was awarded the Order of the Red Banner for its role in the operations near Dresden in late April. The division remained under the command of General Sukhanov until it was disbanded in September 1946.
References
Citations
Bibliography
*
* p. 58
* pp. 124, 157
External links
Nikolai Mikhailovich GlovatskiiThe 118th Rifle Division at ''Pamyat Naroda''Short history of 15th Guards Rifle Corps, including 118th (2nd formation) and 85th Guards Rifle Division. In Russian typescript.
{{Soviet Union divisions before 1945, state=collapsed
118 118 may refer to:
*118 (number)
*AD 118
*118 BC
*118 (TV series)
*118 (film)
*118 (Tees) Corps Engineer Regiment
*118 (Tees) Field Squadron, Royal Engineers
*118 Peitho, a main-belt asteroid
See also
*11/8 (disambiguation)
*Oganesson
Oganesson ...
Military units and formations established in 1940
Military units and formations disestablished in 1946
Military units and formations awarded the Order of the Red Banner
1940 establishments in the Soviet Union
1946 disestablishments in the Soviet Union