The 1st Guards Proletarian 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 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 ...

and

Russian Ground Forces The Russian Ground Forces (), also known as the Russian Army in English, are the Army, land forces of the Russian Armed Forces. The primary responsibilities of the Russian Ground Forces are the protection of the state borders, combat on land, ...

active from 1926 to 2002.

History

Interwar period

The order forming the Moscow Proletarian Rifle Division was issued on 31 December 1926. The division was formed with three rifle brigades and a separate squadron with formation to be completed by 1 February 1927, from separate units of the Moscow garrison 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 ...

. The Separate Moscow Rifle Regiment, formed in 1924, became the 1st Rifle Regiment. The training rifle battalion of the Vystrel course was reorganized into the 1st Battalion of the 2nd Rifle Regiment, the 1st Separate Local Rifle Battalion reorganized into the 1st Battalion of the 3rd Rifle Regiment, the 20th Separate Local Rifle Battalion became the 2nd Battalion of the 3rd Rifle Regiment, and the Separate Training Squadron at the Red Army Military Academy reorganized into the division's separate squadron.

Pavel Batov Pavel Ivanovich Batov (; – April 19, 1985) was a senior Red Army general during the World War II, Second World War and afterwards, twice Hero of the Soviet Union. Batov fought in World War I, where he was awarded the Cross of St. George twi ...

was a battalion and then regiment commander in the division in the late 1920s. The division was numbered as the 1st Moscow Proletarian Rifle Division on 21 May 1936. In honor of its tenth anniversary and "successes in combat and political training" the division was awarded the Honorary Revolutionary Red Banner on 28 December, thus becoming the 1st Moscow Proletarian Red Banner Rifle Division. On 22 April 1938 the division was renamed the 1st Moscow Red Banner Rifle Division. The division was expanded to form the new 115th and 126th Rifle Divisions on 7 September 1939, and the new 1st Moscow Red Banner Rifle Division was formed from its 6th Red Banner Rifle Regiment. The 1st Rifle Division was reorganized as the 1st Motorized Division on 7 December 1939.

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 () or Polatsk () is a town in Vitebsk Region, Belarus. It is situated on the Dvina River and serves as the administrative center of Polotsk District. Polotsk is served by Polotsk Airport and Borovitsy air base. As of 2025, it has a pop ...

and forward positions at Widze to

Panevėžys Panevėžys () is the fifth-largest List of cities in Lithuania, city in Lithuania and the List of cities in the Baltic states by population, eighth-most-populous city in the Baltic States. it occupies with 89,100 inhabitants. As defined by Eu ...

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

and 2-month long garrisoning of

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 ...

, 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 () 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 1930 but its statute was only defined in decree of the Presidium of the ...

22 February 1941.

Eastern Front (World War II) The Eastern Front, also known as the Great Patriotic War (term), Great Patriotic War in the Soviet Union and its successor states, and the German–Soviet War in modern Germany and Ukraine, was a Theater (warfare), theatre of World War II ...

=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 from World War II. When introduced, its 76.2 mm (3 in) tank gun was more powerful than many of its contemporaries, and its 60-degree sloped armour provided good protection against Anti-tank warfare, ...

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 (; , ; ) is a city in Vitebsk Region, Belarus. It is situated on the fork of the Dnieper, Dnieper River and Arshytsa River, and it serves as the administrative center of Orsha District. As of 2025, it has a population of 101,662. History ...

, 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 Mogilev (; , ), also transliterated as Mahilyow (, ), is a city in eastern Belarus. It is located on the Dnieper, Dnieper River, about from the Belarus–Russia border, border with Russia's Smolensk Oblast and from Bryansk Oblast. As of 2024, ...

, 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 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 cities in Russia. It has been a regional capital for most of ...

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 Tank 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. *On 30 August 1941, the 1st Tank 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. *On 18 September 1941, the 1st Tank Division was withdrawn to

Mozhaysk MozhayskAlternative transliterations include ''Mozhaisk'', ''Mozhajsk'', ''Mozhaĭsk'', and ''Možajsk''. (, ) is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, town and the administrative center of Mozhaysky District, Moscow Oblast, Mozhaysky Distri ...

for replenishment and subordinated directly to

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 ...

. *On 30 September 1941, the 1st Guards Moscow Motor Rifle Division was assigned to the 40th Army and sent to

Sumy Sumy (, , ) is a city in northeastern Ukraine. It serves as the administrative center of Sumy Oblast. The city is situated on the banks of the Psel (river), Psel River and has a population of making it the 23rd-largest in the country. The city ...

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 was a battle that took place from 20 to 24 October 1941 for control of the city of Kharkov, located in the Ukrainian SSR, during the final stage of Operation Barbarossa. The battle was fought between the German 6t ...

was being lost by Soviet forces. After losing

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

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 ...

. *On 21 October 1941, the division was assigned to 33rd army and arrived to Naro-Fominsk. The 1st Guards Moscow Motor Rifle Division lost 70% of personnel in

urban warfare Urban warfare is warfare in urban areas such as towns and cities. Urban combat differs from combat in the open at both Military operation, operational and the Military tactics, tactical levels. Complicating factors in urban warfare include the p ...

before retreating from Naro-Fominsk on 25 October, and subsequent attempts to rettake Naro-Fominsk on 28 October failed. The division remained in the Naro-Fominsk area until end of November 1941. *On 29 January 1942, the division liberated the village of Myatlevo along 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 ''Ger ...

, in October 1943 - in Bryansk offensive, and in December 1943 - in Gorodok offensive. *From January–July 1944, the 1st Guards Rifle Division advanced in the

Vitebsk Vitebsk or Vitsyebsk (, ; , ; ) is a city in northern Belarus. It serves as the administrative center of Vitebsk Region and Vitebsk District, though it is administratively separated from the district. As of 2025, it has 358,927 inhabitants, m ...

Minsk Minsk (, ; , ) is the capital and 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 status in Belarus and is the administra ...

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

East Prussia East Prussia was a Provinces of Prussia, province of the Kingdom of Prussia from 1772 to 1829 and again from 1878 (with the Kingdom itself being part of the German Empire from 1871); following World War I it formed part of the Weimar Republic's ...

in the Gusev area, and stormed

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 ...

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

Baltiysk Baltiysk ( ); ; Old Prussian: ''Pillawa''; ; ; is a seaport town and the administrative center of Baltiysky District in Kaliningrad Oblast, Russia, located on the northern part of the Vistula Spit, on the shore of the Strait of Baltiysk separ ...

as part of 11th Guards Army of the

3rd Belorussian Front The 3rd Belorussian Front () was a Front of the Red Army during the Second World War. The 3rd Belorussian Front was created on 24 April 1944 from forces previously assigned to the Western Front. Over 381 days in combat, the 3rd Belorussian Fr ...

Post war

The division was stationed in

Kaliningrad Kaliningrad,. known as Königsberg; ; . until 1946, is the largest city and administrative centre of Kaliningrad Oblast, an Enclave and exclave, exclave of Russia between Lithuania and Poland ( west of the bulk of Russia), located on the Prego ...

during the postwar period as part of the 11th Guards Army. It became the 1st Guards Moscow Motorised Rifle Division (again) in 1957. The 171st Guards Regiment became the 12th Guards Motorised Rifle Regiment in March 1959. The division was truncated virtually all the time (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, and in 2002 was reduced in size again to the 7th Separate Guards Motor Rifle Regiment, and, -10 was reduced in size yet again and renamed as the 7th Independent "Proletarian Moscow-Minsk" Guards Motorized Rifle Regiment of the Baltic Fleet ().

Commanders

The division had the following commanders: * Georgy Mikhailovsky (26 December 1926–20 June 1930) * Semyon Bely (acting, 20 June–1 July 1930) *

Grigory Kulik Grigory Ivanovich Kulik (; ; 9 November 1890 – 24 August 1950) was a Soviet military commander and Marshal of the Soviet Union who served as chief of the Red Army's Main Artillery Directorate from 1937 until June 1941. Born into a Ukrainian ...

(1 July–11 October 1930) * Nikolay Artemenko (15 October 1930–1 November 1931) * Rafail Khmelnitsky (1 November 1931–4 November 1934) * Aleksandr Kuksha (November–20 December 1934) *

Komdiv () is the syllabic abbreviation to commanding officer of the division (; ), and was a military rank in the Soviet Armed Forces of the USSR in the period from 1935 to 1940. It was also the designation to military personnel appointed to command ...

Leonid Petrovsky (17 December 1934 – June 1937, made komdiv 26 November 1935) * Komdiv Vasily Morozov (4 June 1937–14 August 1939) * Colonel Ivan Birichev (19 August 1939–17 June 1940, kombrig 4 November 1939, major general 4 June 1940) * Major General Dmitry Lelyushenko (23 June 1940–10 March 1941) * Colonel

Yakov Kreizer Yakov Grigorevich Kreizer (; 4 November 1905, Voronezh – 29 November 1969, Moscow) was a Soviet field commander. Before the war Kreizer's Jewish parents were granted permission to live outside the Jewish pale of settlement because his gr ...

(11 March–12 July 1941) * Colonel Vladimir Gluzdovsky (15–27 July 1941) * Major Dmitry Mikhailovsky (27 July–3 August 1941, acting) * Major General

(3–29 August 1941, made major general 7 August) * Colonel Aleksandr Lizyukov (29 August–30 November 1941) * Colonel Timofey Novikov (30 November–15 December 1941) * Colonel Dmitry Bakhmetyev (15–17 December 1941, acting) * Colonel

Sergey Iovlev Sergey Ivanovich Iovlev (; 30 September 1899 – May 1979) was a Red Army major general. After rising to junior command positions during the Russian Civil War, Iovlev spent most of the 1920s and 1930s with the Soviet Border Troops. Decorated for ...

(17 December 1941–17 January 1942) * Colonel Timofey Novikov (17 January–15 February 1942, major general 20 January) * Colonel Pavel Afonin (15–24 February 1942, acting) * Colonel Vasily Revyakin (24 February–13 April 1942) * Colonel Artemy Kholodny (13–20 April 1942) * Lieutenant Colonel Vladimir Ratner (20 April–1 June 1942) * Major General Vasily Revyakin (1 June–3 December 1942) * Colonel Nikolay Kropotin (3 December 1942–17 February 1944, major general 29 January 1943) * Colonel Pavel Palchikov (18 February–6 March 1944) * Colonel Pavel Tolstikov (7 March–20 July 1944) * Major General Aleksandr Pastrevich (21 July–3 August 1944) * Lieutenant Colonel Sergey Portnov (4 August–10 September 1944) * Colonel Pavel Tolstikov (11 September 1944–21 October 1947, major general 20 April 1945) * Major General Vasily Shulga (10 June 1948–11 January 1951) * Major General Vasily Belonogov (11 January–25 December 1951) * Colonel Anatoly Bankuzov (25 December 1951–14 June 1956, major general 3 August 1953) * Colonel Ivan Chasha (July 1956–19 May 1959, major general 27 August 1957) * Colonel Anatoly Klyuyev (19 May 1959–23 August 1961, major general 9 May 1961) * Colonel Nikolay Chigogidze (23 August 1961–November 1966, major general 13 April 1964) * Colonel Ivan Kulikov (November 1966–June 1971, major general 23 February 1967) * Colonel Fyodor Bondarenko (June 1971–19 November 1973) * Colonel Albert Zlobin (19 November 1973–November 1976, major general 25 April 1975)

Notes

References

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

External links

Baltic Military District (Russian), including units and equipment holdings for division in 1989-91
{{Soviet Union divisions G001 Infantry divisions of Russia Military units and formations established in 1926 Military units and formations disestablished in 2002