The 43rd Rifle Division was a

formation Formation may refer to: Linguistics * Back-formation, the process of creating a new lexeme by removing or affixes * Word formation, the creation of a new word by adding affixes Mathematics and science * Cave formation or speleothem, a secondary ...

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 ...

, which took part in the

Second World War 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 ...

, known to the Soviets as the "Great Patriotic War".

History

The 43rd Rifle Division was formed in 1924–1925 in the

Velikiye Luki Velikiye Luki ( rus, Вели́кие Лу́ки, p=vʲɪˈlʲikʲɪjə ˈlukʲɪ; lit. ''great meanders''. Г. П. Смолицкая. "Топонимический словарь Центральной России". "Армада-� ...

region as part of the

Leningrad Military District The Order of Lenin Leningrad Military District () is a military district of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation. The district was awarded the Order of Lenin in 1968. In 2010, it was merged with the Moscow Military District, the Northern ...

under the name of the 43rd Territorial Division. Stationed in the

Western Special Military District Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US * Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia * Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that ...

. In autumn 1937 it was relocated directly in Leningrad. 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 ...

for participation in the

Winter War The Winter War was a war between the Soviet Union and Finland. It began with a Soviet invasion of Finland on 30 November 1939, three months after the outbreak of World War II, and ended three and a half months later with the Moscow Peac ...

. Fought at Oranienbaum. On June 24, 1941, when the Northern Front was formed, it became part of the

50th Rifle Corps The 50th Rifle Corps was a corps of the Soviet Red Army. It was part of the 23rd Army on 22 June 1941. It took part in the Great Patriotic War. Organization On 22 June 1941, the corps included the following units: * 43rd Rifle Division * 70 ...

, 23rd Army. In 1941 it fought in the

defence Defense or defence may refer to: Tactical, martial, and political acts or groups * Defense (military), forces primarily intended for warfare * Civil defense, the organizing of civilians to deal with emergencies or enemy attacks * Defense indust ...

of the

Karelian isthmus The Karelian Isthmus (; ; ) is the approximately stretch of land situated between the Gulf of Finland and Lake Ladoga in northwestern Russia, to the north of the River Neva. Its northwestern boundary is a line from the Bay of Vyborg to the we ...

during the

Continuation War The Continuation War, also known as the Second Soviet–Finnish War, was a conflict fought by Finland and Nazi Germany against the Soviet Union during World War II. It began with a Finnish declaration of war on 25 June 1941 and ended on 19 ...

. Then from 1941 to 1944 in the

siege of Leningrad The siege of Leningrad was a Siege, military blockade undertaken by the Axis powers against the city of Leningrad (present-day Saint Petersburg) in the Soviet Union on the Eastern Front (World War II), Eastern Front of World War II from 1941 t ...

, in 1944 in the Leningrad-Novgorod Offensive, the

Krasnoye Selo–Ropsha Offensive The Krasnoye Selo–Ropsha offensive, also known as Operation January Thunder and Neva-2, was a campaign between the Soviet Leningrad Front and the German 18th Army fought for the western approaches of Leningrad in 14–30 January 1944. Backg ...

, Kingisepp–Gdov Offensive, the Baltic Offensive, Tartu Offensive, the Riga Offensive, and the

Memel Offensive Memel, a name derived from the Couronian-Latvian ''memelis, mimelis, mēms'' for "mute, silent", may refer to: *Memel, East Prussia, Germany, now , Lithuania **, (Klaipėda Castle), the in Memel, a castle built in 1252 by Teutonic Knights which w ...

. In 1945 it fought against the

Courland Pocket The Courland Pocket was a Pocket (military), pocket located on the Courland Peninsula in Latvia on the Eastern Front (World War II), Eastern Front of World War II from 9 October 1944 to 10 May 1945. Army Group North of the ''Wehrmacht'' were ...

. With Leningrad Front May 1945. In the summer of 1945, the division moved to Kuybyshev, in the

Ural Military District The Red Banner Ural Military DistrictHistory of the Ural Military District / Edited by Alexander Egorovsky, Ivan Tutarinov – 1 – Moscow: Military Publishing House of the Ministry of Defense of the Soviet Union, 1970 – 352 Pages – 11,500 ...

. It became the 21st Rifle Brigade in 1946 and was upgraded to a division in October 1953. On 4 June 1957, it became a motor rifle division. On 1 March 1959, the 74th and 147th Motor Rifle Regiments disbanded and were replaced by the disbanded 44th Motor Rifle Division's 118th and 126th Motor Rifle Regiments. On 24 May 1962, it was converted to a training motor rifle division. On 22 February 1968, it was awarded a second Order of the Red Banner. On 14 September 1987, it became the 469th District Training Center. In 2004 it combined with the 473rd District Training Center.

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History

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