The 4th Guards Airborne Division () was an airborne 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 ...

that fought as infantry during

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 ...

. Formed in December 1942 from three airborne brigades, the division spent the next few months training for airborne operations. However, it first saw combat as an infantry unit in the Demyansk Offensive in late February 1943, then helped defend

Ponyri Ponyri () is the name of several inhabited localities in Kursk Oblast, Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in ...

during 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 ...

. The division fought in

Operation Kutuzov Operation Kutuzov was the first of the two counteroffensives launched by the Red Army as part of the Kursk Strategic Offensive Operation. It commenced on 12 July 1943, in the Central Russian Upland, against Army Group Center of the German ''Ger ...

and advanced west in the

Battle of the Dnieper The Battle of the Dnieper was a military campaign that took place in 1943 on the Eastern Front of World War II. Being one of the largest operations of the war, it involved almost four million troops at one point and stretched over a front. Ov ...

, during which it captured

Pryluky Pryluky ( ) is a city and List of hromadas of Ukraine, municipality located on the Udai River in Chernihiv Oblast, north-central Ukraine. It serves as the administrative center of Pryluky Raion (Raion, district). Located nearby is the Pryluky (a ...

and crossed the

Dnieper The Dnieper or Dnepr ( ), also called Dnipro ( ), is one of the major transboundary rivers of Europe, rising in the Valdai Hills near Smolensk, Russia, before flowing through Belarus and Ukraine to the Black Sea. Approximately long, with ...

. It received the

Ovruch Ovruch (, ) is a city in Korosten Raion, Zhytomyr Oblast, northern Ukraine, first mentioned as Vruchiy in 977. It was the capital city of the Drevlians in the 900s, later conquered by the Mongols in the 13th century, then later part of the Grand D ...

honorific for the capture of the key rail junction during the Battle of Kiev. The division then fought in the Zhitomir–Berdichev Offensive and the Korsun-Shevchenkovsky Offensive in late 1943 and early 1944. The 4th Guards received 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 ...

and the Order of Bogdan Khmelnitsky for actions during the

Uman–Botoșani Offensive The Uman–Botoșani offensiveTsouras, p. 244 or Uman–Botoshany offensive () was a part of the Dnieper–Carpathian offensive, carried out by the Red Army in the western Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic against the German 8th Army (Wehrma ...

, then fought in the

Second Jassy–Kishinev Offensive The second (symbol: s) is a unit of time derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes, and finally to 60 seconds each (24 × 60 × 60 = 86400). The current and formal definition in the International System of U ...

and received 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 ...

. The division advanced westward into Hungary, fighting 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 ...

and the Budapest Offensive in late 1944. In the last months of the war it fought in the Bratislava–Brno Offensive and ended the war fighting in the Prague Offensive. Shortly after the end of the war, the division was redesignated as the 111th Guards Rifle Division, and disbanded in 1946–1947.

History

The 4th Guards Airborne Division was formed by an order of 8 December 1942 at Stupino,

Moscow Oblast Moscow Oblast (, , informally known as , ) is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject of Russia (an oblast). With a population of 8,524,665 (Russian Census (2021), 2021 Census) living in an area of , it is one of the most densely populate ...

from the 1st Airborne Brigade of the 1st Airborne Corps and the independent 2nd and 5th Maneuver Airborne Brigades, one of eight new airborne divisions. It was commanded by Major General Pyotr Alexandrov, the former commander of the 1st Airborne Corps, whose headquarters became the division headquarters. The division included the 9th, 12th, and 15th Guards Airborne Regiments, as well as the 1st Guards Airborne Artillery Regiment. For the rest of December and January 1943, the division conducted parachute jumps and trained in tactics, preparing for operations in the German rear. In February 1943, it was transferred from the

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'' ...

(RVGK) to the

Northwestern Front The Northwestern Front (Russian: ''Северо-Западный фронт'') was a military formation of the Red Army during the Winter War and World War II. It was operational with the 7th and 13th Armies during the Winter War. It was re-c ...

, joining the

1st Shock Army The 1st Shock Army () was a field army established by the Soviet Union's Red Army during World War II. The 1st Shock Army was created in late 1941 and fought in the northern areas of Russia and the Baltic States until the surrender of Germany i ...

. The 4th Guards were alerted for the movement on 5 February and were transported by truck towards

Staraya Russa Staraya Russa (, ) is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, town in Novgorod Oblast, Russia, located on the Polist, Polist River, south of Veliky Novgorod, the administrative center of the oblast. Its population has steadily decreased over ...

. The division entered combat on 26 February during the Demyansk Offensive, and in the second half of March transferred to the

53rd Army The 53rd Army was a field army of the Soviet Union's Red Army which was formed in August 1941, disbanded in December 1941, and reformed in May 1942. It fought throughout World War II before again being disbanded after the war in October 1945. Th ...

of the RVGK on the

Kursk Kursk (, ) is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and the administrative center of Kursk Oblast, Russia, located at the confluence of the Kur (Kursk Oblast), Kur, Tuskar, and Seym (river), Seym rivers. It has a population of Kursk ...

direction. In mid-April the army became part of the

Steppe Military District The Steppe Military District () was a Military districts of the Soviet Union, military district of the Soviet Union, formed twice. It was first formed in April 1943 during World War II near Voronezh as a strategic reserve, and after the beginning ...

. The 4th Guards Airborne fought in the

as part of the

13th Army Thirteenth Army or 13th Army may refer to: * Thirteenth Army (Japan) * Japanese Thirteenth Area Army * 13th Army (Russian Empire), unit in World War I *13th Army (RSFSR), a unit in the Russian Civil War *13th Army (Soviet Union) The 13th Army (, ...

of the

Central Front The Central Front was a major formation of the Red Army during the Second World War formed on July 24, 1941. The Central Front describes either of two distinct organizations during the war. The first entity existed for just a month during the ...

, distinguishing itself in the repulse of the German attack at

. It then fought in the

. During the advance into

left-bank Ukraine The Left-bank Ukraine is a historic name of the part of Ukraine on the left (east) bank of the Dnieper River, comprising the modern-day oblasts of Chernihiv, Poltava and Sumy as well as the eastern parts of Kyiv and Cherkasy. Left-bank Ukrain ...

, the division fought as part of the

60th Army The Red Army's 60th Army was a Soviet field army during the Second World War. It was first formed in reserve in the Moscow Military District in October 1941, but soon was disbanded. It was formed a second time in July 1942, and continued in servic ...

of the Central Front. During the Chernigov–Pripyat Offensive, it participated alongside other units in the recapture of

on 18 September. Elements of the division crossed the

on 1 October, and fought fiercely to hold and expand the bridgehead in the area of Horodyshche, Gubin, and Dytiatky, 20 kilometers south of

Chernobyl Chernobyl, officially called Chornobyl, is a partially abandoned city in Vyshhorod Raion, Kyiv Oblast, Ukraine. It is located within the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone, to the north of Kyiv and to the southwest of Gomel in neighbouring Belarus. ...

. At the end of October it transferred back to the 13th Army, now part 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 ...

. With the 13th Army, the division fought in the Battle of Kiev, distinguishing itself when it captured

and the significant rail junction towards

Polesia Polesia, also called Polissia, Polesie, or Polesye, is a natural (geographic) and historical region in Eastern Europe within the East European Plain, including the Belarus–Ukraine border region and part of eastern Poland. This region shou ...

on the night of 19 November, for which it received the Ovruch honorific on the same day. Subsequently, the division fought in the Zhitomir–Berdichev Offensive, and was transferred to the 40th Army of the 1st Ukrainian Front (transferred to the

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 ...

on 21 February) in the second half of January 1944, with which it fought in the Korsun–Shevchenkovsky Offensive. During the

, the division broke through the Axis defenses at Oratovka and Yushkovtsy, 15 to 20 kilometers northwest of Tsybuliv on 10 March, then crossed the

Southern Bug The Southern Bug, also called Southern Buh (; ; ; or just ), and sometimes Boh River (; ),

and took

Bratslav Bratslav (, ; ) is a rural settlement in Ukraine, located in Tulchyn Raion of Vinnytsia Oblast, by the Southern Bug river. It is a medieval European city and a regional center of the Eastern Podolia region (see Bracław Voivodeship) founded ...

on 17 March. It 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 ...

southwest of

Mohyliv-Podilskyi Mohyliv-Podilskyi (, ) is a city in Vinnytsia Oblast, Ukraine. It serves as the administrative center of Mohyliv-Podilskyi Raion within the oblast. It is located in the historic region of Podolia, on the border with Bessarabia, Moldova, along th ...

on 25 March, then developed the offensive alongside the rest of the 40th Army and the

11th Guards Tank Corps In music theory, an eleventh is a compound interval consisting of an octave plus a fourth. A perfect eleventh spans 17 and the augmented eleventh 18 semitones, or 10 steps in a diatonic scale. Since there are only seven degrees in a diaton ...

of the 1st Ukrainian Front to capture

Khotyn Khotyn (, ; , ; see #Name, other names) is a List of cities in Ukraine, city in Dnistrovskyi Raion, Chernivtsi Oblast of western Ukraine, located south-west of Kamianets-Podilskyi. It hosts the administration of Khotyn urban hromada, one of th ...

on 3 April. For its "exemplary fulfillment of command tasks, valor, and courage" the division was awarded the

on 8 April, and for its actions in the capture of Khotyn it received the Order of Bogdan Khmelnitsky, 2nd class, on 18 April. During the

in mid-1944, the division fought with the 27th Army of the 2nd Ukrainian Front. For its "exemplary fulfillment of command tasks, valor, and courage" during the offensive, the division was awarded the

, 2nd class, on 15 September. Between October and January 1945 it fought in the

and the Budapest Offensive. From 17 February to the end of the war, it operated as part of the

7th Guards Army The 7th Guards Army was a field army of the Red Army during World War II and of the Soviet Army during the Cold War. History The 7th Guards Army was formed from the 64th Army on April 16, 1943. 64th Army had originally been formed from 1s ...

of the

4th Ukrainian Front The 4th Ukrainian Front () was the name of two distinct Red Army strategic army groups that fought on the Eastern Front in World War II. The front was first formed on 20 October 1943, by renaming the Southern Front and was involved in the Lower ...

. During the Bratislava–Brno Offensive, it fought on Czechoslovakian territory, and captured

Bratislava Bratislava (German: ''Pressburg'', Hungarian: ''Pozsony'') is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the Slovakia, Slovak Republic and the fourth largest of all List of cities and towns on the river Danube, cities on the river Danube. ...

on 4 April. The division ended the war fighting in the Prague Offensive in early May. For their actions during the war, several thousand of its soldiers received orders and medals, and nine were made

Heroes of the Soviet Union The title Hero of the Soviet Union () was the highest distinction in the Soviet Union, awarded together with the Order of Lenin personally or collectively for heroic feats in service to the Soviet state and society. The title was awarded both t ...

. On 28 June, the division was redesignated as the 111th Guards Rifle Division when several airborne divisions formed in 1942 that had fought as infantry for the rest of the war were redesignated as rifle divisions. Its regiments became the 2nd, 7th, and 16th Guards Rifle Regiments, and the 466th Guards and 471st Guards Artillery Regiments. Around this time, it transferred to the 4th Guards Army of the

Central Group of Forces The Central Group of Forces (Russian: Центральная группа войск) was a formation of the Soviet Armed Forces used to incorporate Soviet troops in Central Europe on two occasions: in Austria and Hungary from 1945 to 1955 and tr ...

. The division was disbanded in 1946–1947 shortly after the army was withdrawn to the

Odessa Military District The Odessa Military District (; , abbreviated ) was a military administrative division of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. This district consisted of Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic, Moldavia and five Oblasts of Ukraine, Ukrainian oblasts of Odesa ...

Commanders

The following officers commanded the division: * Major General Pyotr Alexandrov (December 8, 1942 – 18 April 18, 1943) * Major General

Alexander Rumyantsev Alexander Rumyantsev or Aleksander Rumyantsev may refer to: * Alexander Rumyantsev (nobleman) (1677–1749), Russian nobleman and assistant of Peter the Great * Alexander Rumyantsev (minister) (born 1945), Russian minister * Alexander Rumyantsev (p ...

(April 19, 1943 – September 20, 1944) * Colonel Alexey Kostrikin (September 21 – October 28, 1944) * Colonel Nikolay Yeryomin (promoted to Major General April 20,1945; October 29, 1944 – May, 1946)

References

Citations

Bibliography

* * * * * *

History

Commanders

References

Citations

Bibliography

Further reading