The 38th Rifle Division (38-я стрелковая дивизия) 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 Union's

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 ...

during World War II. Petr Ivanovich Miroshnikov 1922-1924 Rostov

Formed in 1918 as the 2nd Don Infantry Division. In February 1919, as part of the 1st Army, the Division took part in the fighting in the Urals and Bashkiria against the troops of Ataman

Alexander Dutov Alexander Ilyich Dutov (; – 7 February 1921) was a Russian Cossack ataman and lieutenant general who led the Orenburg Cossacks in a revolt against the Bolsheviks. Biography Dutov was born in Kazalinsk in Syr-Darya Oblast (now Kazaly ...

. In 1920, it ensured the delivery of its troops from the Caucasus forest in Donbass. Then, as part of the 13th Army it led the fighting against the army of General Wrangel. Since October 1920 Division was fighting against Makhno gangs. In June 1922 it was renamed the 9th Don Rifle Division. In 1930, the division became part of the

North Caucasus Military District The North Caucasus Military District was a military district of the Russian Armed Forces from 1992-2010. Before 1992 it had been part of the Soviet Armed Forces since 1918. In 2010 it became the Southern Military District and lately also included t ...

. Headquartered in

Rostov-on-Don Rostov-on-Don is a port city and the administrative centre of Rostov Oblast and the Southern Federal District of Russia. It lies in the southeastern part of the East European Plain on the Don River, from the Sea of Azov, directly north of t ...

, the division included units in

Novocherkassk Novocherkassk () is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, city in Rostov Oblast, Russia, located near the confluence of the Tuzlov and Aksay Rivers, the latter a distributary of the Don (river), Don River. Novocherkassk is best known as the ...

Taganrog Taganrog (, ) is a port city in Rostov Oblast, Russia, on the north shore of Taganrog Bay in the Sea of Azov, several kilometers west of the mouth of the Don (river), Don River. It is in the Black Sea region. Population: Located at the site of a ...

, and

Zernograd Zernograd (, literally "Grain town") is a town and the administrative center of Zernogradsky District in Rostov Oblast, Russia, located southeast of Rostov-on-Don, the administrative center of the oblast. Population: History It was founded ...

. The division was renumbered as the 38th Don Red Banner Morozovsk-Donetsk Rifle Division named for A. I. Mikoyan in 1936. In August and September 1939 the 158th and 171st Rifle Divisions were formed from regiments of the division. In June 1941 it became part of the 19th Army, formed in the North Caucasus Military District under General Lieutenant

Ivan Konev Ivan Stepanovich Konev ( rus, Ива́н Степа́нович Ко́нев, p=ɪˈvan sʲtʲɪˈpanəvʲɪtɕ ˈkonʲɪf, links=no; 28 December 1897 – 21 May 1973) was a Soviet general and Marshal of the Soviet Union who led Red Army forc ...

. It was wiped out at Vyazma in October 1941. Recreated at Alma Ata in January 1942, fought at Stalingrad and became

73rd Guards Rifle Division The 73rd Guards Rifle Division was reformed as an elite infantry division of the Red Army in March 1943, based on the 2nd formation of the 38th Rifle Division, and served in that role until after the end of the Great Patriotic War. As the 38th it ...

in March 1943. Created again at

Kutaisi Kutaisi ( ; ka, ქუთაისი ) is a city in the Imereti region of the Georgia (country), Republic of Georgia. One of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world, it is the List o ...

4.43, fought on the Dnieper River and at Targul Frumos. While with 40th Army, took part in the

Battle of Debrecen The Battle of Debrecen, called by the Red Army the ''Debrecen Offensive Operation'', was a battle taking place from 6 to 29 October 1944 on the Eastern Front in Hungary during World War II. The offensive was conducted by the 2nd Ukrainia ...

in October 1944. With

2nd Ukrainian Front The 2nd Ukrainian Front () was a front of the Red Army during the Second World War. History On October 20, 1943, the Steppe Front was renamed the 2nd Ukrainian Front. In mid-May 1944 Malinovsky took over the 2nd Ukrainian Front. During t ...

5.45. The division was disbanded in the summer of 1945 in the

Southern Group of Forces The Southern Group of Forces (YUGV) was a Soviet Armed Forces formation formed twice following the Second World War, most notably around the time of the Hungarian Revolution of 1956. First Formation On June 15, 1945, the 26th and 37th Armies (fr ...

.Feskov et al 2013, p. 146

Notes

References

* *Robert G. Poirier and Albert Z. Conner, The Red Army Order of Battle in the Great Patriotic War, Novato: Presidio Press, 1985. .

Notes

References

Further reading