The 20th Rifle Division was an

infantry division A division is a large military unit or Formation (military), formation, usually consisting of between 10,000 and 25,000 soldiers. In most armies, a division is composed of several regiments or brigades; in turn, several divisions typically mak ...

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 ...

, formed three times. The first formation of the division lasted from 1919 to 1921 and fought during the

Russian Civil War The Russian Civil War () was a multi-party civil war in the former Russian Empire sparked by the 1917 overthrowing of the Russian Provisional Government in the October Revolution, as many factions vied to determine Russia's political future. I ...

before its downsizing into a brigade. The brigade became the 3rd Caucasian Rifle Division, the 3rd Caucasian Mountain Rifle Division, and the 20th Mountain Rifle Division during the interwar years. In 1944 the 20th became the 20th Rifle Division again. It was disbanded after the end of the war. The division briefly reformed between 1955 and 1957 from the 188th Rifle Division and was converted into a motor rifle division.

First Formation

The division was first formed as the Penza Infantry Division, which was formed by Order No. 9 of the 1st Army of the Eastern Front on 6 July 1918. Until 15 September 1918 it was known as the 1st Penza Infantry Division. By order of the Field Staff of the RVSR 1477 N / A on 16 March 1919, it was named the 20th Rifle Division. By an order of the Separate Caucasus Army on 13 October 1921, the division was disbanded and its headquarters used to form that of the 6th Separate Caucasian Rifle Brigade. The brigade was soon renumbered as the 3rd Separate Caucasian Rifle Brigade on 29 November of that year, and on 26 June 1922 became the 3rd Caucasian Rifle Division of the Separate Caucasus Army. The division was renamed the 3rd Caucasian Mountain Rifle Division on 1 October 1931 and it was redesignated as the 20th Caucasian Mountain Rifle Division on 21 May 1936 to standardize its name. It was awarded an Honorary Revolutionary Red Banner of the Central Executive Committee (1924),

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 ...

. Was part of the 1st Army of the Eastern Front (July 1918 - October. 1919), 10th Army (Oct. 1919-Feb. 1920, March - April. 1920), under the operational control of the

1st Cavalry Army __NOTOC__ The 1st Cavalry Army (), or ''Konarmia'' (Кона́рмия, "Horsearmy"), was a prominent Red Army military formation that served in the Russian Civil War and Polish–Soviet War, Polish-Soviet War. History Formation On 17 Novem ...

(Feb. - March 1920), 11th Army (May 1921 - Separate Caucasus Army, from August 1923 - Red Banner Caucasus Army) (April 1920 - May 1935), in the Transcaucasian Military District (May 1935).

Second Formation

Formed during World War II on 21 April 1944 from the 20th Mountain Rifle Division. Fought at Krasnodar, Novorossiysk, Crimea, and near Berlin. With 28th Army of the

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 ...

May 1945. The division inherited the 20th Mountain Rifle Division's Order of the Red Banner, was awarded another Order of the Red Banner during the war, and received the honorific "Baranovichi". It was also awarded the

Order of Suvorov The Order of Suvorov () is a military decoration of the Russian Federation named in honor of Russian Generalissimo Prince Alexander Suvorov (1729–1800). History The Order of Suvorov was originally a Soviet Union, Soviet award established on ...

2nd class. Thus its final title was the 20th Baranovichi twice Red Banner Order of Suvorov Rifle Division. After the end of the war the division transferred to

Lida Lida is a city in Grodno Region, western Belarus, located west of Minsk. It serves as the administrative center of Lida District. As of 2025, it has a population of 103,262. Etymology The name ''Lida'' arises from its Lithuanian name ''Ly ...

with the 28th Army. It was disbanded before 1 July 1946.

Third Formation

After the war, the 20th Rifle Division was reformed in 1955 from the 188th Rifle Division. It was disbanded on 17 April 1957 by being redesignated the 93rd Motor Rifle Division. (Feskov et al./Armies of the Bear) The division was based at

Zaporizhia Zaporizhzhia, formerly known as Aleksandrovsk or Oleksandrivsk until 1921, is a city in southeast Ukraine, situated on the banks of the Dnieper River. It is the administrative centre of Zaporizhzhia Oblast. Zaporizhzhia has a population of ...

, Zaporizhia Oblast, under 25th Army Corps. The 93rd Motor Rifle Division was disbanded in 1959. It should not be confused with the 93rd Guards Motor Rifle Division.

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{{Soviet Union divisions 1945–1957 020 Military units and formations established in 1919 Military units and formations disestablished in 1957