The 94th 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 ...

that became part 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 ...

. Formed in the 1930s, the division spent

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 ...

in the

Transbaikal Military District The Transbaikal Military District () was a military district of first the Soviet Armed Forces and then the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, formed on 17 May 1935 and included the Buryat Republic, Chita Oblast, and Yakutia. Chita was ...

, seeing its only combat in the

Soviet invasion of Manchuria The Soviet invasion of Manchuria, formally known as the Manchurian Strategic Offensive Operation or simply the Manchurian Operation () and sometimes Operation August Storm, began on 9 August 1945 with the Soviet Union, Soviet invasion of the Emp ...

. The division continued to serve in the Transbaikal postwar until its disbandment in 1956.

History

The 94th Rifle Division was formed in early 1932 as a territorial unit of the

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 regiments of the division were based in

Krasnoyarsk Krasnoyarsk is the largest types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and administrative center of Krasnoyarsk Krai, Russia. It is situated along the Yenisey, Yenisey River, and is the second-largest city in Siberia after Novosibirsk, with a p ...

and nearby

Achinsk Achinsk () is a city in Krasnoyarsk Krai, Russia, located on the right bank of the Chulym River near its intersection with the Trans-Siberian Railway, west of Krasnoyarsk. It has a population of 109,155 as of the 2010 Census. History Achins ...

. As a result of the

Battles of Khalkhin Gol The Battles of Khalkhin Gol (; ) were the decisive engagements of the undeclared Soviet–Japanese border conflicts involving the Soviet Union, Mongolian People's Republic, Mongolia, Empire of Japan, Japan and Manchukuo in 1939. The conflict wa ...

, cadres from the division were used to form the new

119th Rifle Division The 119th Rifle Division was an infantry division of the Red Army, formed three times. It was originally raised at Krasnoyarsk in 1939 as a motor rifle division until the following year when it was reorganized as a standard Red Army rifle divisio ...

in Krasnoyarsk and the 91st Rifle Division in Achinsk during August and September 1939. The 94th was sent to the

in July 1939, but did not see action. During 1940 and 1941 the division was part of the 12th Rifle Corps of the district, and in July 1941 became part of the 36th Army, formed from the 12th Rifle Corps. The division included the following elements when the war began: * 9th Rifle Regiment * 64th Rifle Regiment * 152nd Rifle Regiment * 97th Artillery Regiment * 83rd Reconnaissance Battalion * 158th Separate Destroyer Anti-Tank Battalion * 491st Separate Anti-Aircraft Artillery Battalion * 124th Sapper Battalion * 99th Separate Signals Battalion * 95th Auto Transport Company * 118th Medical-Sanitary Battalion * 37th Separate Chemical Defense Company * 89th Field Bakery The division spent most of

covering the border southeast of Chita. Colonel Ivan Zamakhayev commanded the division from 30 April 1943 and was promoted to major general on 2 November 1944. The 94th did not see action until August 1945, when it fought in the

as part of the 36th Army. The main forces of the division crossed the Argun into Manchuria without artillery preparation on the night of 9 August and entered sustained fighting for the Jalainur-

Manzhouli Manzhouli ( zh, s=满洲里; ; ) is a sub-prefectural city located in Hulunbuir prefecture-level city, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, China. Located on the border with Russia, it is a major land port of entry. It has an area of and a populat ...

fortified region, simultaneously advancing to the north on

Hailar Hailar District, formerly a county-level city, is an urban District (China), district that serves as the seat of the prefecture-level city Hulunbuir in northeastern Inner Mongolia, China. Hulunbuir, due to its massive size, is a city in administr ...

. As part of the army mobile group, the division conducted a turning movement and on 10 August surprised the Japanese defenders by attacking the city from the east, joining the battle for the Hailar fortified region. The division then continued the offensive deeper into Manchuria. Crossing the

Greater Khingan The Greater Khingan Range or Da Hinggan Range ( zh, s=大兴安岭, t=大興安嶺, p=Dà Xīng'ān Lǐng; IPA: ) is a volcanic mountain range in the Inner Mongolia region of Northeast China. It was originally called the Xianbei Mountains, whi ...

, the division captured Boketu, Yalu, and Zalantun on 17 August, and

Qiqihar Qiqihar (also spelled Tsitsihar) is the second-largest city in the Heilongjiang province of China, in the west central part of the province. The built-up (or metro) area made up of Longsha, Tiefeng and Jianhua districts had 959,787 inhabitants, w ...

on 19 August. For its performance in the invasion, the 94th 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 ...

on 19 September 1945. In October 1945 the division (

Military Unit Number A Military Unit Number (Russian: войсковая часть, в/ ч; Ukrainian: військова частина, в/ ч) is a numeric alternate designation for military units in the armed forces and internal troops of post-Soviet ...

06126) was still part of the 86th Rifle Corps within 36th Army. On 2 July 1955 86th Rifle Corps became

26th Rifle Corps Sixth is the ordinal number, ordinal form of the number Six (number), six. * The Sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution, Sixth Amendment, to the U.S. Constitution * A keg of beer, equal to 5 U.S. gallons or barrel * The fraction Mus ...

. The 94th was based at

Sretensk Sretensk ( rus, Сретенск, p=ˈsrʲetʲɪnsk) is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, town and the administrative center of Sretensky District in Zabaykalsky Krai, Russia, located on the right bank of the Shilka River (Amur River, ...

by 1955 and was disbanded on 25 July 1956.

Commanders

The following officers commanded the division: * Colonel Nikanor Ivanovich Samonov (16 November 1940 – 29 April 1943, major general 20 December 1942) * Colonel Ivan Vasilyevich Zamakhayev (30 April 1943 – after 3 September 1945, major general 2 November 1944) * Colonel Konstantin Fyodorovich Mayorov (7 January – 27 January 1946) * Major General Vladislav Nikolayevich Kushnarenko (27 January 1946–25 January 1927) * Major General Semyon Savvich Velichko (19 April 1947–May 1949) * Colonel Fyodor Pavlovich Zhuravlyov (May 1949–October 1952) * Major General Grigory Sergeyevich Dudnik (5 August 1953–29 November 1954) * Colonel Viktor Titovich Yaglenko (29 November 1954–8 May 1956)

References

Citations

Bibliography

* * * * * {{Soviet Union divisions 1945–1957 Infantry divisions of the Soviet Union Military units and formations awarded the Order of the Red Banner