The 1st Rifle Division NKVD was a
division of the
NKVD
The People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs (, ), abbreviated as NKVD (; ), was the interior ministry and secret police of the Soviet Union from 1934 to 1946. The agency was formed to succeed the Joint State Political Directorate (OGPU) se ...
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 ...
during
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 ...
.
History
The 1st Rifle Division NKVD was formed in August 1941 from the 3rd, 7th, 33rd and 102nd Border Guard Detachments and the 7th and 33rd NKVD Rifle Regiments. In December 1941 the division was then assigned to the
8th Army where it remained until February 1942 when it moved back to the Neva Operational Group as part of the
Leningrad Front
The Leningrad Front () was formed during the 1941 German approach on Leningrad (now Saint Petersburg) by dividing the Northern Front into the Leningrad Front and Karelian Front on August 27, 1941.
History
The Leningrad Front was immediately ...
. Later that year in August the division was transferred to the Red Army and redesignated as the
46th Rifle Division
The 46th Rifle Division was a rifle division of the Red Army.
History
The division was formed in 1923 as a territorial unit, assigned to the 14th Rifle Corps of the Ukrainian Military District. Based in Kiev, it included the 136th, 137th, and 13 ...
.
Organization at beginning
Organization of the "division" before it was actually considered a division sized unit.:
* Headquarters
* 3rd NKVD Rifle Regiment ''(Former 3 Border Guards)''
* 7th NKVD Rifle Regiment ''(Former 7 NKVD Regiment)''
* 33rd NKVD Rifle Regiment ''(Former 33 NKVD Regiment)''
* 102nd NKVD Rifle Regiment ''(Former 102 Border Guards)''
*93rd Light Artillery Regiment ''(Attached during Winter War)''
Organization during War
When the war started the division was de-organized and re-organized as a rifle division within the army. It was then known (in the army) as the "46th (Dzerzhinsky) Rifle Division):
see for further information. The structure when it entered the army:
* Headquarters
* 176th Rifle Regiment
* 314th Rifle Regiment
* 340th Rifle Regiment
* 393rd Light Artillery Regiment
* 60th Separate Anti-Tank Company
*49th Reconnaissance Company
*40th Engineer Battalion
*353rd Signal Battalion
*36th Medical Battalion
*63rd Separate Chemical Defense Company
*138th Motor Transport Company
*299th Field Bakery
*68th Divisional Veterinary Hospital
*937th Field Post Station
*1134th Field Tick Office of the State Bank
References
{{NKVD Divisions
Divisions of the NKVD in World War II
Military units and formations established in 1941
Military units and formations disestablished in 1942