13th Guards Rifle Division

Formation and combat

The division was formed in November 1941 in the Kursk region on the basis of parts of the 3rd airborne corps as the 87th infantry division (2nd formation) ^[3] .

• “January 19, 1942. Moscow.

In numerous battles for our Soviet Motherland against the German invaders, the 87th Infantry Division showed examples of courage, courage, discipline and organization. Waging continuous battles with the German invaders, the 87th Infantry Division inflicted enormous losses on the Nazi troops and, with their crushing blows, destroyed the enemy’s manpower and equipment, mercilessly defeated the enemy.
For the courage shown in battles for the Fatherland with the German invaders, for steadfastness, courage, discipline and organization, for the heroism of personnel, to transform the 87th Rifle Division into the 13th Guards Rifle Division.
Divisions hand guards banner.
The entire commanders (senior, senior, middle and junior) of the division should be appointed one and a half, and the soldiers should be paid a double salary. ”(From a telegram) ^[4] .

By order of the People's Commissar of Defense of the USSR of January 19, 1942, the 87th Rifle Division was renamed the 13th Guards Rifle Division. The banner of the division was awarded on February 9, 1942. ^[5]

• For successful military operations under the Kursk decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR dated 03.03.1942, the division was awarded the Order of Lenin , and its commander Alexander Ilyich Rodimtsev was promoted to major general .

After the defeat of the Soviet troops near Kharkov, the division was assigned to reorganize on the left bank of the Volga . In September 1942, the division became part of the 62nd Army and received the task of crossing the Volga to Stalingrad , driving the enemy off the coastal strip, and occupying and firmly defending the central part of the city. On the night of September 14-15, the advance detachment of the 42nd Guards Regiment, crossing the Volga, immediately went into battle and seized the station on September 15 , giving it the opportunity to cross into the city of the entire division.

Having thrown out the 1st rifle battalion and a company of machine gunners of the 42nd Guards Rifle Regiment on armored boats to clear the banks of the Volga River and cover the crossing, the division spent two nights from September 14 to September 15 and from September 15 to September 16 crossed to the city of Stalingrad. The 2nd Infantry Battalion and the company of machine gunners of the 42nd Guards Rifle Regiment crossed on the night of September 15, the 3rd Rifle Battalion of the 42nd Guards Rifle Regiment and the 34th Guards Rifle Regiment crossed the central crossing. At 10.00, September 15, the division headquarters crossed over on armored boats.

On September 16, the 39th Guards Regiment of the 13th Guards Rifle Division and the combined 416th Rifle Regiment of the 112th Rifle Division stormed and after a stubborn battle captured the peak of the Mamaev Kurgan .

From September 21 to 23, in fierce battles, the 13th Guards Rifle Division, with the support of front-line artillery, withstood the enemy’s most powerful onslaught and prevented him from reaching the Volga in the central part of the city and taking possession of the Mamaev Kurgan. In October-November, the division, pressed against the Volga, defended from Kievskaya Street (now Y. Gagarin Street) to the eastern slope of the Mamaev Kurgan. Fighters of the division created a strong defense, turning individual buildings into strongholds. During the period of fighting in Stalingrad, the division’s soldiers destroyed more than 15 thousand enemy soldiers and officers, destroyed more than 100 tanks, several thousand Germans were captured. By active actions, stubborn resistance, the division fettered significant enemy forces, stopped him on the outskirts of the Volga, thereby contributing to the overall mission of the 62nd Army in defending the city. For the courage and valor shown during the defense of Stalingrad by decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR dated March 31, 1943, the 13th Guards Rifle Division was awarded the Order of the Red Banner . On July 10, 1943, the division became part of the 32nd Guards Rifle Corps of the 5th Guards Army , in which it remained until the end of the war. On the night of July 15-16 and July 16-17, 1943, the division replaced the 66th Guards Division at the turn of the Barsuchye tract, Safonovka, height 174.0 with the task of preventing the enemy from breaking through from the direction of Zorinsky Dvors, height 207.3 , Olkhovatka, now Ivnyansky district, Belgorod region.

The connection was noted in the battles for the liberation of Poltava : the 32nd Guards Rifle Corps, which included the 13th Guards Rifle Division, was tasked to advance in the direction of Reshetilovka and Vlasovka, bypass Poltava from the north-east and cut off the enemy’s escape route to the Dnieper . The forward detachment of the corps was formed from the forces and means of the 39th Guards Rifle Regiment, 57th Tank Regiment, 301st Regiment and 1902th Self-propelled Artillery Regiments under the command of the Deputy Commander of the 13th Guards Rifle Division, Colonel P.V. Gayev . Performing this task - to capture the Vorskla crossing - in the evening of September 21, 1943 , the advance unit went to Vorskla, forced it in the Krotenko area, seized the bridgehead and started a battle with enemy units defending on the west bank. Following the advance detachment of Gaev, the units of the 13th Guards Rifle Division were also the first to cross the right bank of the river. The enemy was stunned by such a swift attack and began to retreat. Towards the end of the day, units of the division reached the Reshetilovka – Zhuki line, creating a threat to the right flank and rear of the enemy’s grouping and, thereby, preparing favorable conditions for the storming of Poltava by units of the 33rd Guards Rifle Corps.

Post-war period

By directive of the Supreme High Command Headquarters No. 11096 of May 29, 1945, the 13th Guards Rifle Division as part of the 32nd Guards Rifle Corps of the 5th Guards Army was included in the Central Group of Forces ^[6] . In 1945, the 13th Guards Rifle Division was reorganized into the 13th Guards Mechanized Division.

The division of the 32nd Guards Rifle Corps continued to be part of the 5th Guards Combined Arms Army until it was disbanded on March 20, 1947. Prior to the disbandment of the Central Fleet, the division was stationed in Vienna ; after the disbandment of the Central Fleet, the 13th division was withdrawn from Austria to the Carpathian Military District .

On September 9, 1955, the 13th Guards Mechanized Division was disbanded, and its personnel and equipment joined the 39th Mechanized Novorossiysk Order of Suvorov Division ( military unit 73852) ^[1] . On December 4, 1955, the 39th division inherited the guard rank and name from the 13th division - the 39th mechanized Poltava Order of Lenin twice the Red Banner, the orders of Suvorov and Kutuzov Division ( military unit 30206) ^[7] . Since October 1956, it was stationed in Mukachevo - PrikVO .

In November 1956, during the operation "Whirlwind", the division was redeployed from PrikVO to the territory of Hungary . On November 24, 1956, the division entered the newly formed Southern Group of Forces with the location of Veszprem ^[8] .

On December 15, 1956, the 39th Guards Mechanized Division was reorganized into the 21st Guards Tank Division ^[1] .

On January 11, 1965, the 21st Guards Tank Division was renamed the 13th Guards Tank Poltava Order of Lenin twice the Red Banner, the Orders of Suvorov and Kutuzov Division.

In September 1989, the 13th Guards Tank Division was withdrawn to the Odessa Military District ( Crimea , Sovetsky settlement) and disbanded in November 1991 ^[9] .

Periods of joining the army:

• January 19, 1942 - July 16, 1942;
• September 9, 1942 - February 5, 1943;
• July 10, 1943 - June 25, 1944;
• July 13, 1944 - May 11, 1945. ^[10]

1945

• 34th Guards Rifle Silesian Regiment
• 39th Guards Rifle Czestochowa Red Star Order Regiment
• 42nd Guards Rifle Wislen Red Banner Regiment
• 32nd Guards Artillery Silesian Red Banner Regiment
• 4th Separate Guard Anti-Tank Fighter Division,
• 10th Guards anti-aircraft artillery battery (14th separate anti-aircraft artillery division) - until February 5, 1943
• 24th Guards Mortar Division (until November 20, 1942 )
• 14th (49th) separate guards reconnaissance company
• 8th Separate Guards Engineer Battalion
• 139th (9th, 18th) separate guard communications battalion
• 136th (15th) health battalion
• 12th Separate Guards Chemical Defense Company
• 338th (11th) motor transport company
• 196th (17th) field bakery
• 439th (2nd) division veterinary infirmary
• 907th Field Post Station
• 403rd box office of the State Bank

1989

• control
• 130th Guards Tank Kletsky Red Banner, Orders of Kutuzov and Bogdan Khmelnytsky Regiment ( Veszprem ) - (decreased to the 19th Guards Army in 1989)
• 144th Tank Regiment ( Sharbogard )
• 201st Tank Red Banner Kiev, Order of Suvorov, Kutuzov and Alexander Nevsky Regiment ( Polgardi )
• 6th Guards Motorized Rifle Volnovakhsky twice Red Banner, Order of the Suvorov Regiment ( Taborfalva )
• 32nd Guards Self-propelled Artillery Silesian Red Banner Regiment ( Tamashi )
• 1215th Anti-aircraft Missile Regiment ( Dunafoldvar ) - withdrawn in 1990 in the city of Lugansk
• 698th Separate Missile Division, Sentkiraisabadia - expelled from the division in 1987
• 56th Separate Reconnaissance Battalion ( Vechesh ) -2
• 139th Separate Communications Battalion ( Sentkiraisabadia )
• 8th Guards Separate Engineering Battalion ( Bahia )
• 1080th Separate Material Support Battalion ( Tolna )
• 120th separate repair and restoration battalion ( Veszprem )
• 167th Separate Medical Battalion, Tolna ^[11]

Commanders

•   Rodimtsev, Alexander Ilyich (01/19/1942 - 05/21/1943), Guard Colonel, Guard Major General ;
• Samchuk, Ivan Anikeevich (05.22.1943 - 05.29.1943), guard lieutenant colonel;
•   Baklanov, Gleb Vladimirovich (05/30/1943 - 12/15/1943), Guard Major General;
• Laptadze, Ilya Iosifovich (12/16/1943 - 01/11/1944), guard colonel;
• Shumeev, Pavel Ivanovich (01/12/1944 - 02/15/1944), Guard Colonel (VRID);
•   Baklanov, Gleb Vladimirovich (02.16.1944 - 10.29.1944), guards major general;
•   Komarov Vladimir Nikolaevich (10.30.1944 - 05.11.1945), Guard Colonel ^[12] .

Deputy Front Commander

•   Borisov Vladimir Alexandrovich (07.1942 - 10.1942), Guard Colonel
• Antsiferov, Ivan Ivanovich (? - 06.1943), Guard Colonel ^[13]
• Gaev, Pavel Vitalievich (06.1943 - 10.1943), guard colonel (died in battle on 05.10.1943) ^[13]
• Shumeev, Pavel Ivanovich (01.1944 - 08.1944), guard colonel

Commissars (deputy commanders for political affairs)

• Zubkov, Sergey Nikolaevich (01/19/1942 - 1942), Guard Senior Battalion Commissar, Guard Regimental Commissar
• Vavilov, Mikhail Mikhailovich , Guard Colonel
• Nesterov, Gennady Alexandrovich , Guard Colonel (until the end of the war)

Chiefs of Staff

•   Borisov Vladimir Alexandrovich (01/19/1942 - 07/1942), Guard Colonel
• Belsky, Tikhon Vladimirovich (08.1942 - 10.29.1944), guard lieutenant colonel, guard colonel
• Meshkanov Konstantin Fedorovich (10.29.1944 - 1945), Guard Major, Guard Lieutenant Colonel

Commanders of regiments and units

• 34th Guards Rifle Regiment
  • Trofimov Philip Alekseevich, Guard Lieutenant Colonel
  • Panikhin Dmitry Ivanovich, guard lieutenant colonel (died in battle)
  •   Berezin, Semyon Petrovich , Guard Colonel (seriously injured in battle)
  • Krivosheev, Pavel Andreevich, Guard Lieutenant Colonel (transferred to the post of commander of the 39th Guards Rifle Regiment)
  • Danilov, Peter Vasilievich, Guard Lieutenant Colonel
  • Mudryak, Guard Lieutenant Colonel (September 1944 - May 1945)
• 39th Guards Rifle Regiment
  • Samchuk Ivan Anikeevich, Guard Lieutenant Colonel
  • Schur Andrey Konstantinovich, Guard Colonel
  • Kharitonov Alexander Danilovich, guard lieutenant colonel
  • Krivosheev, Pavel Andreevich, guard lieutenant colonel
• 42nd Guards Rifle Regiment
  • Elin Ivan Pavlovich, Guard Colonel
  • Kolesnik Alexey Vladimirovich, guard lieutenant colonel (wounded)
  •   Polovets, Ivan Kuzmich , Guard Major
• 32nd Guards Artillery Regiment
  • Klebanovsky Alexander Vladimirovich, guard lieutenant colonel (as of December 1942)
  • Klyagin ??
  • Voitko Mikhail Zakharovich, guard lieutenant colonel (died in battle)
  •   Ageev, Ivan Alekseevich - Guard Lieutenant Colonel
• 4th Separate Guard Anti-Tank Fighter Division
  • Rozanov Ivan Grigoryevich, Guard Major

About 20 thousand of its soldiers were awarded orders and medals , nineteen of them were awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union , 7 people became knights of the Order of Glory of three degrees.

  Heroes of the Soviet Union ^{[15] [16]} :

• Ageev, Ivan Alekseevich - Guard Lieutenant Colonel, commander of the 32nd Guards Artillery Regiment.
• Baklanov, Gleb Vladimirovich - Guard Major General, Division Commander.
• Bondarev, Matvey Arsentyevich - guard captain, deputy division commander of the 32nd Guards Artillery Regiment.
• Borovichenko, Maria Sergeevna - guard sergeant, nurse of the 32nd guards artillery regiment.
• Brik, Grigory Evdokimovich - guard captain, mortar company commander of the 42nd Guards Rifle Regiment.
• Bykov, Egor Ivanovich - guard corporal, gunner gunner of the 39th Guards Rifle Regiment.
• Bykov, Ivan Mikhailovich - Guard Senior Lieutenant, battery commander of the 32nd Guards Artillery Regiment.
• Gryaznov, Vladimir Mikhailovich - Guard Lieutenant, commander of a platoon of machine gunners of the 39th Guards Rifle Regiment.
• Kazakov, Pyotr Ivanovich - guard captain, battalion commander of the 42nd Guards Rifle Regiment.
• Kiselev, Vasily Iosifovich - Guard Lieutenant, commander of a fire platoon of the 34th Guards Rifle Regiment.
• Komarov, Vladimir Nikolaevich - guard colonel, division commander.
• Ovchinnikov, Maxim Mikhailovich , Guard Junior Sergeant, machine gunner of the 34th Guards Rifle Regiment.
• Pavlov, Yakov Fedotovich - guard sergeant, commander of the machine gun compartment of the 42nd Guards Rifle Regiment.
• Podkopay, Ivan Yakovlevich - guard captain, commander of machine gunners of the 39th Guards Rifle Regiment.
• Polovets, Ivan Kuzmich - Guard Major, commander of the 42nd Guards Rifle Regiment.
• Slavgorodsky, Georgy Vasilievich - Guard Major, battalion commander of the 34th Guards Rifle Regiment.
• Stepanov Alexander Nikolaevich - guard sergeant, assistant platoon commander of the 42nd Guards Rifle Regiment.
• Frolov, Nikolai Nikiforovich - guard junior sergeant, gunner of the easel machine gun of the rifle company of the 39th guards rifle regiment.
• Shaimardanov, Zakiy Shaimardanovich - guard sergeant, gunner of the 32nd Guards Artillery Regiment.

  Cavaliers of the Order of Glory of 3 degrees ^[17] :

• Varyanitsa, Ivan Fedorovich , guard sergeant, machine-gun commander of the 34th Guards Rifle Regiment.
• Gorbenko, Dmitry Filippovich , guard senior sergeant, commander of the 34th Guards Rifle Regiment.
• Gochiyan, Agasi Ignatievich , guard foreman, assistant platoon commander of the 34th Guards Rifle Regiment.
• Kinyashov, Mikhail Alexandrovich , guard junior sergeant, mortar crew commander of the 34th Guards Rifle Regiment.
• Telkov, Vasily Fedorovich , guard sergeant, squad leader of the 8th separate guards combat engineer battalion.
• Umrikhin, Andrei Petrovich , guards senior sergeant, assistant commander of the reconnaissance platoon of the 42th Guards Rifle Regiment.
• Hitev, Mikhail Dmitrievich , guards senior sergeant, gun commander of the 32th guards artillery regiment.

Division Awards:

• 34th Guards Rifle Silesian ^[20] Regiment
• 39th Guards Rifle Czestochowski ^[21] Order of the Red Star Regiment
• 42nd Guards Rifle Wislen ^[22] Red Banner Regiment
• 32nd Guards Artillery Silesian ^[20] Red Banner Regiment

^[23] .

• 3rd airborne corps ;
• 87th Infantry Division.
• 13th Guards Mechanized Division
• 21st Guards Tank Division
• 13th Guards Tank Division .

• Poltava Rifle Division // Military Objects - Radio Compass / [under the general. ed. N.V. Ogarkova ]. - M .: Military Publishing House of the USSR Defense Ministry , 1978. - S. 433-434. - ( Soviet military encyclopedia : [in 8 vols.]; 1976-1980, vol. 6).
• The team of authors of the Russian Federation. article “Poltava Rifle Division” // Military Encyclopedia / Chairman SB Ivanov . - M .: Military Publishing House , 2002. - T. 6. - S. 498-499. - 639 p. - 10,000 copies. - ISBN 5-203-01873-1 .
• Poltava Rifle Division // Soviet Military Encyclopedia in 8 volumes. - M .: Military Publishing House, 1976-1980, volume 6, S.433-434.
• The Great Patriotic War, 1941-1945 : Encyclopedia / Ed. M. M. Kozlova . - M .: Soviet Encyclopedia , 1985. - P. 573. - 500 000 copies.
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• Rodimtsev A.I. Mashenka from the Mousetrap . - 1964.
• Feskov V.I., Kalashnikov K.A., Golikov V.I. Chapter 2. Rifle and airborne troops, fortified areas of the Red Army during the Great Patriotic War // Red Army in victories and defeats 1941-1945 .. - Tomsk: Publishing house of Tomsk University, 2003. - 619 p. - ISBN 5-7511-1624-0 .

• Team of authors. Ground Forces // Armed Forces of the USSR after the Second World War from the Red Army to the Soviet. - 1st. - Tomsk: NTL, 2013 .-- 640 p. - ISBN 978-5-89503-530-6 .
• Baghramyan I.Kh. So we went to victory . - M .: Military Publishing , 1977 .-- 608 p.
• Heroes of the Soviet Union: A Brief Biographical Dictionary / Prev. ed. collegium I. N. Shkadov . - M .: Military Publishing , 1987.- T. 1 / Abaev - Lyubichev /. - 911 p. - 100,000 copies. - ISBN comp., Reg. RCP No. 87-95382.
• Heroes of the Soviet Union: A Brief Biographical Dictionary / Prev. ed. collegium I. N. Shkadov . - M .: Military Publishing , 1988. - T. 2 / Love - Yashchuk /. - 863 s. - 100,000 copies. - ISBN 5-203-00536-2 .
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• Site of the 13th Guards Rifle Division
• From the military magazine of the 13th Guards Rifle Division in the battles for Stalingrad
• A brief combat description of the 13th Guards Rifle Division by General Chuikov from January 1943 on the site "Memory of the People 1941-1945"
• 13th Guards Rifle Division on the site "Memory of the People 1941-1945"