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The 32nd Guards Tank Division was a tank formation of 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 ...
/
Soviet Ground Forces 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 ...
. Its predecessor, the 9th Guards Airborne Division, was a
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 ...
Airborne division 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: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
. On 19 June 1945, it became the 116th Guards Rifle Division. In 1946, it became the 14th Guards Mechanized Division. In 1957, it became the 14th Guards Motorized Rifle Division. In 1982, it became the 32nd Guards Tank Division, which was disbanded in June 1989.


History


World War II

The 9th Guards Airborne Division was formed on 15 December 1942 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 ...
from the 204th and 211th Airborne Brigades and the 1st Maneuver Airborne Brigade of 1st Airborne Corps. In February 1943, it became part of the 1st Shock Army. Beginning on 12 March 1943, the division fought in the Staraya Russa Offensive Operation. After the end of the Starayarussa Operation, the division was transferred to
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'' ...
(''Stavka'' reserve) and in May was transferred 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 ...
of the
Steppe Front The Steppe Front () was a front of the Red Army during the Second World War which existed from July to October 1943. History On 9 July 1943, Stavka designated a new Reserve Front in the Voronezh region, that had been effective since 30 April.G ...
. During July and August, the 9th Guards Airborne fought in the
Battle of Kursk The Battle of Kursk, also called the Battle of the Kursk Salient, was a major World War II Eastern Front battle between the forces of Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union near Kursk in southwestern Russia during the summer of 1943, resulting in ...
. They were particularly distinguished during the defence of Prokhorovka, where they repulsed German counterattacks by the Leibstandarte. As part of the 33rd Guards Rifle Corps, the division participated in the Belgorod-Khar'kov Offensive Operation. In September 1943, it fought in the Chernigov-Poltava Offensive. On 22 September, in conjunction with the
95th Rifle Division The 95th Rifle Division (Russian: 95-я стрелковая дивизия 95-y strelkovaya diviziya) was a Red Army Division (military), Rifle Division during World War II, formed three times. The division was first formed in November 1923 with ...
and the
84th Rifle Division The 84th Rifle Division () was an infantry division of the Red Army before and during World War II. History Prewar The 84th Rifle Division was formed in 1923 at Tula as one of several Red Army territorial divisions, assigned to the Moscow M ...
, the division crossed the
Vorskla River The Vorskla (; ) is a river that runs from Belgorod Oblast in Russia southwards into northeastern Ukraine, where it joins the Dnieper. Geography The river's source is on the western slopes of the Central Russian Upland north of Belgorod. Wit ...
and stormed Poltava. For its participation in the capture of
Poltava Poltava (, ; , ) is a city located on the Vorskla, Vorskla River in Central Ukraine, Central Ukraine. It serves as the administrative center of Poltava Oblast as well as Poltava Raion within the oblast. It also hosts the administration of Po ...
, the division was given the title "Poltava". At the end of September, the division captured
Kremenchuk Kremenchuk (; , , also spelt Kremenchug, ) is an industrial city in central Ukraine which stands on the banks of the Dnieper, Dnieper River. The city serves as the administrative center of Kremenchuk Raion and Kremenchuk urban hromada within ...
. On 6 December, the division participated in the capture of
Oleksandriia Oleksandriia (, ) is a city in Kirovohrad Oblast, central Ukraine. It serves as the administrative center of Oleksandriia Raion and . Oleksandriia is located within the Kryvyi Rih metropolitan area. In 2001, it had a population of 93,357, a ...
. On 22 March 1944, the 9th Guards Airborne crossed the
Southern Bug The Southern Bug, also called Southern Buh (; ; ; or just ), and sometimes Boh River (; ),
in the area of Ivanovka. It participated in the capture of Pervomaisk and crossed the
Dniester The Dniester ( ) is a transboundary river in Eastern Europe. It runs first through Ukraine and then through Moldova (from which it more or less separates the breakaway territory of Transnistria), finally discharging into the Black Sea on Uk ...
on the night of 13 April, capturing
Grigoriopol Grigoriopol (, , , ) is a town in the Administrative-Territorial Units of the Left Bank of the Dniester, Moldova. It is the seat of the Grigoriopol District of Transnistria. The city is located on the left (eastern) bank of the river Dniester, ...
. For their actions in the capture of Pervomaisk, the division 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 ...
. During the
Lvov–Sandomierz Offensive The Lvov–Sandomierz offensive or Lvov–Sandomierz strategic offensive operation () was a major Red Army operation to force the German troops from Ukraine and Eastern Poland. Launched in mid-July 1944, the operation was successfully completed ...
, the division repulsed German counterattacks, although its commanding officer, Ivan Pichugin, was killed on 4 August, in the area of
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. ...
and defending 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. In the Sandomierz–Silesian Offensive, the 9th Guards Airborne broke through German defences and on 14 January 1945 crossed the Nida. On 21 January it captured Rosenberg and on 24 January crossed the
Oder 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 wes ...
. For its actions in Poland, it was awarded the Order of Suvorov 2nd class on 19 February 1945. During February and March, the 9th Guards Airborne participated in the Lower Silesian Offensive and the Upper Silesian Offensive. On 20 April, during the
Berlin Offensive The Battle of Berlin, designated as the Berlin Strategic Offensive Operation by the Soviet Union, and also known as the Fall of Berlin, was one of the last major offensives of the European theatre of World War II. After the Vistula–Od ...
, the division stormed
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 ...
. In early May, it repulsed a German counterattack near Schwepnitz. The 9th Guards Airborne ended the war in
Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...
. On 4 June, it was awarded the
Order of Kutuzov The Order of Kutuzov ( ''orden Kutuzova'') is a military decoration of the Russian Federation named after famous Russian Field Marshal Mikhail Kutuzov, Mikhail Illarionovich Kutuzov (1745–1813). The Order was established during World War II t ...
2nd class for its actions during the capture of
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 ...
.


Postwar

On 13 June, the 9th Guards Airborne Division became the 116th Guards Rifle Division. In 1946, it became the 14th Guards Mechanized Division. On 20 April 1957, it became the 14th Guards Motorized Rifle Division at Juterborg, part of the 18th Guards Army. The 236th Guards Motor Rifle Regiment transferred to the 82nd Motor Rifle Division in April 1958 and was replaced by that division's 69th Motor Rifle Regiment. In June 1964, the division became part of the
20th Guards Army The 20th Guards Combined Arms Army (originally designated as the 4th Tank Army, 4th Guards Tank Army in 1945, 4th Guards Mechanised Army in 1946, and the 20th Guards Army in 1960 within the Soviet Ground Forces) is a field army. In 1991, after th ...
. The division participated in
Operation Danube On 20–21 August 1968, the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic was jointly invaded by four fellow Warsaw Pact countries: the Soviet Union, the Polish People's Republic, the People's Republic of Bulgaria, and the Hungarian People's Republic. The in ...
in 1968 as part of the
1st Guards Tank Army The 1st Guards Tank Red Banner Army () is a tank army of the Russian Ground Forces (Military Unit Number 73621). The army traces its heritage back to the 1st Tank Army, formed twice in July 1942 and in January 1943 and converted into the 1st ...
. The 330th Tank Regiment inherited the honors of the 343rd Guards Tank Regiment in 1975 and became the 343rd Guards Tank Regiment. In 1976, the division became the first GSFG unit to receive the new T-64A tank. On 14 September 1982, it became the 32nd Guards Tank Division. Its 216th Guards Motor Rifle Regiment became the 287th Guards Tank Regiment and the 223rd Guards Motor Rifle Regiment became the 288th Guards Tank Regiment. On 28 August 1988, the 640th Separate Missile Battalion was disbanded and absorbed by the newly formed 464th Missile Brigade. In May 1989, the 69th Motor Rifle Regiment transferred to the 35th Motor Rifle Division. The 1009th Anti-Aircraft Missile Brigade was also transferred to the 47th Guards Tank Division. The division was disbanded in June 1989 after withdrawal from
Jüterbog Jüterbog () is a historic town in north-eastern Germany, in the Teltow-Fläming district of Brandenburg. It is on the Nuthe river at the northern slope of the Fläming hill range, about southwest of Berlin. History The Polabian Slavs, Slavic se ...
to Krivoy Rog.


Commanders

* Colonel M.V. Grachev (10 December 1942 – 13 January 1943) * Colonel Konstantin Nikolaevich Vindushin (13 January-19 March 1943) * Major General Alexander Mikhailovich Sazonov (19 March 1943 – 6 March 1944) * Major General Ivan Pichugin (20 March-6 August 1944) * Colonel Fedor Afanasiev (12–30 August 1944) * Colonel Pavel Shumeev (6 September 1944 – 1 May 1945) * Colonel EM Golub (2 May-12 June 1945)


Composition

* 23rd Guards Airborne Regiment * 26th Guards Airborne Regiment * 28th Guards Airborne Regiment * 7th Guards Airborne Artillery Regiment


References


Citations


Bibliography

* {{Soviet Union divisions Military units and formations established in 1942 Military units and formations disestablished in 1989 Tank divisions of the Soviet Union Military units and formations awarded the Order of the Red Banner