29th Rifle Division (Soviet Union)
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The 29th Rifle Division was 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 ...
and later the
Soviet Army The Soviet Ground Forces () was the land warfare service branch of the Soviet Armed Forces from 1946 to 1992. It was preceded by the Red Army. After the Soviet Union ceased to exist in December 1991, the Ground Forces remained under th ...
. It was first formed in November 1920 from the 1st Siberian Rifle Division, and fought in 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 ...
in Siberia. It was relocated to Belarus in 1923 and became a territorial division during the
interwar period In the history of the 20th century, the interwar period, also known as the interbellum (), lasted from 11 November 1918 to 1 September 1939 (20 years, 9 months, 21 days) – from the end of World War I (WWI) to the beginning of World War II ( ...
. In 1939 it fought in the
Soviet invasion of Poland The Soviet invasion of Poland was a military conflict by the Soviet Union without a formal declaration of war. On 17 September 1939, the Soviet Union invaded Second Polish Republic, Poland from the east, 16 days after Nazi Germany invaded Polan ...
and was converted into a motorised division in July 1940. As part of the 6th Mechanized Corps, the division was destroyed in
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 ...
, the German invasion of the Soviet Union, in late June 1941. The 29th was reformed from the 7th Moscow People's Militia Division in July, but destroyed in the
Battle of Vyazma The Battle of Vyazma (3 November 1812; 22 October by OS), occurred at the beginning of Napoleon's retreat from Moscow. In this encounter a Russian force commanded by General Miloradovich inflicted heavy losses on the rear guard of the ''Gran ...
in October. A third 29th was formed in Kazakhstan in December and converted to the 72nd Guards Rifle Division for its actions in the
Battle of Stalingrad The Battle of Stalingrad ; see . rus, links=on, Сталинградская битва, r=Stalingradskaya bitva, p=stəlʲɪnˈɡratskəjə ˈbʲitvə. (17 July 19422 February 1943) was a major battle on the Eastern Front of World War II, ...
in the spring of 1943. The 29th was reformed for a fourth time in 1943. It served through the rest of the war and was awarded the honorific
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 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 ...
. Postwar, it was withdrawn to the
Volga Military District The Volga Military District (PriVO) was a military district of the Soviet Union and the Russian Federation that existed from 1918 to 1989 and 1992 to 2001. The district headquarters was located at Kazan, Saratov and Kuibyshev (Samara) at differen ...
and reduced to a brigade, which became the 63rd Mechanised Division in 1953. In 1957 it became the 110th Motor Rifle Division before being renumbered as the 29th in 1964. It relocated to Kamen-Rybolov in 1968, serving there until its disbandment after the end of the
Cold War The Cold War was a period of global Geopolitics, geopolitical rivalry between the United States (US) and the Soviet Union (USSR) and their respective allies, the capitalist Western Bloc and communist Eastern Bloc, which lasted from 1947 unt ...
.


First formation

The 4th Rifle Division was formed from local guard battalions and other units from
Omsk Omsk (; , ) is the administrative center and largest types of inhabited localities in Russia, city of Omsk Oblast, Russia. It is situated in southwestern Siberia and has a population of over one million. Omsk is the third List of cities and tow ...
,
Semipalatinsk Semey (; , formerly known as Semipalatinsk ( ) until 2007 and as Alash-Qala ( ) from 1917 to 1920, is a city in eastern Kazakhstan, in the Kazakh part of Siberia. When Abai Region was created in 2022, Semey became its administrative centre. I ...
, and
Novonikolayevsk Novosibirsk is the largest city and administrative centre of Novosibirsk Oblast and the Siberian Federal District in Russia. As of the 2021 census, it had a population of 1,633,595, making it the most populous city in Siberia and the third-mo ...
in accordance with an order of the troops in Siberia of 28 September 1920, part of the 5th Army. By an order of 26 October, it was redesignated the 1st Siberian Rifle Division. The division became the 29th Rifle Division in accordance with an order of the assistant to the commander in chief for Siberia on 15 November. The division received the honorific Vyatka on 30 November 1921. In 1922, the 29th fought in the suppression of the West Siberian revolt, a series of peasant uprisings against Soviet rule. It fought in Akmola,
Tyumen Tyumen ( ; rus, Тюмень, p=tʲʉˈmʲenʲ, a=Ru-Tyumen.ogg) is the administrative center and largest types of inhabited localities in Russia, city of Tyumen Oblast, Russia. It is situated just east of the Ural Mountains, along the Tura ( ...
, and
Tobolsk Governorate Tobolsk Governorate () was an administrative-territorial unit ('' guberniya'') of the Russian Empire, Russian Republic and Russian SFSR located in the Ural Mountains and Siberia. It existed from 1796 to 1920; its seat was in the city of Tobolsk, ...
s, and in the areas of
Ishim Ishim may refer to: *Ishim (river), a river in Kazakhstan and Russia *Ishim, Tyumen Oblast, a town in Tyumen Oblast, Russia *Ishim (angel), a rank of angels in the Jewish angelic hierarchy See also

*Ishimsky (disambiguation) *Ishimbay {{Disam ...
,
Yalutorovsk Yalutorovsk () is a town in Tyumen Oblast, Russia, located on the Tobol River southeast of Tyumen. Population: History It was founded in 1659 as the settlement of Yalutorovsky () and was granted town status in 1782. Administrative and munici ...
, and
Petropavl Petropavl ( ; ) is a city on the Ishim River in northern Kazakhstan close to the border with Russia. It is the capital of the North Kazakhstan Region. Population: 218,956. Petropavl is about from Kökşetau, northwest of the national cap ...
ovsk. Between January and June the division protected the Omsk section of the
Trans-Siberian Railway The Trans-Siberian Railway, historically known as the Great Siberian Route and often shortened to Transsib, is a large railway system that connects European Russia to the Russian Far East. Spanning a length of over , it is the longest railway ...
. Later that year, it was transferred to the
Western Siberian Military District The Siberian Military District was a Military district of the Russian Ground Forces. The district was originally formed as a military district of the Russian Empire in 1864. In 1924 it was reformed in the Red Army. After the end of World War II the ...
. The 29th was transferred to the
Western Military District The Western Military District () was a Military districts of Russia, military district of Russia, in existence from 2010 until its abolishment as a unitary military command on February 26, 2024, succeeded by the newly reconstituted Moscow Mil ...
(later the Belorussian Military District) to participate in maneuvers in September 1923, joining the
4th Rifle Corps The 4th Rifle Corps was a corps of the Red Army, active from the 1920s. First Formation It was formed during the Russian Civil War as part of the Western Front of the Red Army in May and June 1922. The corps headquarters was stationed in Vitebsk ...
. Between 29 March 1924 and the mid-1930s, the 29th was a territorial unit. On 12 December 1924, the 29th received the honorific named for the Finnish proletariat and lost the Vyatka honorific. In September 1939, it fought in the
Soviet invasion of Poland The Soviet invasion of Poland was a military conflict by the Soviet Union without a formal declaration of war. On 17 September 1939, the Soviet Union invaded Second Polish Republic, Poland from the east, 16 days after Nazi Germany invaded Polan ...
. The 29th was officially redesignated as a motorised division on 4 July 1940. With 6th Mechanised Corps, 10th Army, Western Front on 22 June 1941. Poirer and Connor appear to say it was wiped out near Minsk in July 1941. It was formally disbanded on 19 September 1941.


Second formation

It was then recreated from the 7th Moscow People's Militia Division in July 1941, and again wiped out at Vyazma in October 1941.


Third formation

On December 5, 1941, recreation of the 29th Rifle Division began in Akmolinsk,
Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a landlocked country primarily in Central Asia, with a European Kazakhstan, small portion in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the Kazakhstan–Russia border, north and west, China to th ...
, and its organization was completed on January 16, 1942. It was reformed on the basis of the very short lived 459th Rifle Division.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, p. 20.
The division was made up of 106th, 128th, 299th Rifle and 77th Artillery Regiments. Other units included the 125th Anti-Tank, 78th Sapper, 124th Signal, and 29th Medical Battalions, and the 104th Reconnaissance Company. The division was held in reserve until June 1942, when its men were deemed to have received sufficient training. In July 1942 29th Rifle Division was ordered to move to Stalingrad and join the 64th Army. In August 1942 units of the division first met with the Germans. During
Battle of Stalingrad The Battle of Stalingrad ; see . rus, links=on, Сталинградская битва, r=Stalingradskaya bitva, p=stəlʲɪnˈɡratskəjə ˈbʲitvə. (17 July 19422 February 1943) was a major battle on the Eastern Front of World War II, ...
they killed 5,242 and took 13,447 captive. On February 2, 1943, the
Battle of Stalingrad The Battle of Stalingrad ; see . rus, links=on, Сталинградская битва, r=Stalingradskaya bitva, p=stəlʲɪnˈɡratskəjə ˈbʲitvə. (17 July 19422 February 1943) was a major battle on the Eastern Front of World War II, ...
was finally over. Due to the heroism of the soldiers, the 29th Rifle Division (2nd formation) was redesignated the 72nd Guards Rifle Division by Directorate of the
General Staff A military staff or general staff (also referred to as army staff, navy staff, or air staff within the individual services) is a group of officers, Enlisted rank, enlisted, and civilian staff who serve the commanding officer, commander of a ...
order №104 on March 1, 1943.


Fourth formation

The 29th Rifle Division was recreated in 1943 and saw action at Kirovograd. It gained the honorific 'Polotsk' and 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. With
6th Guards Army The 6th Guards Army was a Soviet Guards formation which fought against Nazi Germany during World War II under the command of General Ivan Chistyakov. The Army's chief of staff was General Valentin Antonovich Penkovskii. The 6th Guards Army was ...
of the Kurland Group (Leningrad Front) May 1945. In the summer of 1945, the 123rd Rifle Corps, with the 29th Rifle Division, arrived in the
Volga Military District The Volga Military District (PriVO) was a military district of the Soviet Union and the Russian Federation that existed from 1918 to 1989 and 1992 to 2001. The district headquarters was located at Kazan, Saratov and Kuibyshev (Samara) at differen ...
. Corps headquarters was established at Kuibyshev and headquarters of the 29th Rifle Division at
Shikhany Shikhany, also spelled Shikhansky () is a closed town in Saratov Oblast, Russia, north of Saratov on the right bank of the Volga River Population: . It has been a closed town since 1997, but lost this status on 1 January 2019. The town is 2 kil ...
. In 1946, it became the 10th Separate Rifle Brigade. The division became the 63rd Mechanised Division on 18 September 1953, then the 110th Motor Rifle Division was activated on 4 June 1957 in
Shikhany Shikhany, also spelled Shikhansky () is a closed town in Saratov Oblast, Russia, north of Saratov on the right bank of the Volga River Population: . It has been a closed town since 1997, but lost this status on 1 January 2019. The town is 2 kil ...
, Saratov Oblast, from the 63rd Mechanised Division.Michael Holm
29th Motor Rifle Division
/ref> From 1957 to 1960 the division was part of the 40th Army Corps. On 17 November 1964 it was renamed the 29th Motor Rifle Division. In April 1968 it was moved to Kamen-Rybolov, Primorsky Krai, and joined the
5th Red Banner Army The 5th Guards Combined Arms Red Banner Order of Zhukov Army (5-я гвардейская общевойсковая Краснознамённая, ордена Жукова армия) is a Russian Ground Forces formation in the Eastern Milita ...
. It was disbanded in 1994.


References


Citations


Bibliography

* * {{Soviet Union divisions 029 Military units and formations established in 1920 Military units and formations disestablished in 1953 Soviet infantry divisions in the Russian Civil War ru:29-я моторизованная дивизия (СССР)