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69th Guards Rifle Division
Active	1943–1953
Country	Soviet Union
Branch	Red Army
Type	Division
Role	Infantry
Engagements	World War II Belgorod-Kharkov Offensive Battle of the Dnieper Kirovograd Offensive Battle of Korsun–Cherkassy Uman–Botoșani Offensive First Jassy-Kishinev Offensive Second Jassy–Kishinev Offensive Budapest Offensive Siege of Budapest Operation Konrad III Operation Spring Awakening Vienna Offensive
Decorations	Order of the Red Banner
Battle honours	Zvenigorodka
Commanders
Notable commanders	Maj. Gen. Kirill Kocheevich Dzhakhua

The 69th Guards Rifle Division was reformed as an elite infantry division of the Red Army in February 1943, based on the 2nd formation of the 120th Rifle Division, and served in that role until after the end of the Great Patriotic War.

It originally served in the Stalingrad Group of Forces, mopping up in the ruins of that city after the Axis surrender there before eventually being assigned to the 21st Guards Rifle Corps of 4th Guards Army and moving north to the Kursk area in the Steppe Military District. The division would remain under these Corps and Army commands, with short exceptions, for the duration of the war. It entered combat during the Belgorod-Kharkov Offensive in August and continued fighting toward the Dniepr River and Kiev during the autumn and early winter. In early 1944 it took part in the encirclement battle at Korsun-Shevchenkovsky and was soon rewarded with a battle honor. The 69th Guards then fought its way to the Dniestr River where it took part in two offensives, the second of which in August finally took the city of Iași; this victory won the division the Order of the Red Banner. Now that Romania had been driven out of the Axis the division's combat path moved into the Balkans. The 69th Guards spent the remainder of the war fighting in Hungary and Austria; its regiments would all receive recognition for their roles in the battles for Budapest as they advanced into Austria. After the war the division remained in the Southern Group of Forces and in 1953 was converted to the 70th Guards Mechanized Division.

Formation

The 120th was redesignated as the 69th Guards on February 6, shortly after the German surrender at Stalingrad, and officially received its Guards banner on April 21. Once the division completed its reorganization its order of battle was as follows:

• 204th Guards Rifle Regiment (from 289th Rifle Regiment)
• 206th Guards Rifle Regiment (from 538th Rifle Regiment)
• 208th Guards Rifle Regiment (from 543rd Rifle Regiment)
• 139th Guards Artillery Regiment (from 1033rd Artillery Regiment)
• 75th Guards Antitank Battalion
• 71st Guards Reconnaissance Company
• 79th Guards Sapper Battalion
• 97th Guards Signal Battalion
• 73rd Guards Medical/Sanitation Battalion
• 70th Guards Chemical Defense (Anti-gas) Company
• 68th Guards Motor Transport Company
• 72nd Guards Field Bakery
• 67th Guards Divisional Veterinary Hospital
• 1974th Field Postal Station
• 1155th Field Office of the State Bank

Col. Kirill Kocheevich Dzhakhua, who had commanded the 120th since October 27, 1942 remained in command; he would be promoted to the rank of major general on March 1 and would lead the division for the duration of the war. The division had been in the 57th Army on February 1 but was then transferred to 21st Army and shortly after to the Stalingrad Group of Forces where it remained until March 1.

Into Ukraine

After leaving the Stalingrad Group the 69th Guards was reassigned to the 24th Army in the Reserve of the Supreme High Command. In April it was subordinated to the new 21st Guards Rifle Corps along with the 68th Guards and 84th Rifle Divisions as the 24th became the 4th Guards Army within the Steppe Military District. The division remained under these commands and in roughly the same area east of the Kursk salient until early August.

Following the defeat of the German Zitadelle offensive the 4th Guards Army, under command of Lt. Gen. G. I. Kulik and still in reserve, was concentrating in the area of Chernyanka, Orlik and Loznoe on July 23. By August 17 the Army had been assigned to Army Gen. N. F. Vatutin's Voronezh Front and was now concentrated in the area from Yamnoye to Novaya Ryabina to Yablochnoye. As the Front pressed on towards Kharkov panzer forces of Army Group South counterattacked in the area of Akhtyrka and Vatutin received orders to eliminate this grouping to ward off the possible isolation of 27th Army. These orders were passed to the 27th, the 4th and 6th Guards and 1st Tank Armies. 4th Guards initially committed two divisions of its 20th Guards Rifle Corps to this effort and by August 20 the German riposte was brought to a halt. The Army was tasked with attacking toward Kotelva the following day; by August 27 it had reached the Vorskla River and captured Kotelva.

By September 9 the 69th Guards was advancing towards the Dniepr southwest of Zenkov in the Poltava region. A squad of 11 men of the 206th Guards Rifle Regiment, led by Jr. Lt. Museib Bagir oglu Bagirov, captured a tactically important height before being subjected to counterattacks. Armed with a sniper rifle, Bagirov was credited with killing or wounding 28 German soldiers, after which he destroyed a German artillery piece and its crew with an antitank grenade. Despite being surrounded, and in spite of his own wound, Bagirov's men held the height for more than 24 hours, knocking out three armored vehicles and inflicting up to an additional 250 casualties. On February 22, 1944 Bagirov was made a Hero of the Soviet Union. After his recovery in hospital he rejoined his regiment, fought through to the end of the war and died in 1981.

Battles for the Dnieper

On September 20 the division was recorded as having a strength of 5,048 personnel, supported by 44 guns of 76mm and 122mm calibre plus 81 medium and heavy mortars. As of September 22 Voronezh Front was attacking along three axes. On the left (south) flank the 4th Guards and 52nd Armies were advancing along a line through the Kozelshchyna Raion in the direction of Kremenchug while the Front's 3rd Guards Tank Army reached the Dniepr at Zarubintsy. 4th Guards also reached the river on September 28 but had to temporarily go over to the defense on the east bank. In a STAVKA directive (No. 30203) issued the next day the 52nd and 4th Guards Armies were transferred to Steppe Front to the south.

On October 6 the 69th Guards began its crossing operations in the Svitlovodsk area near Kirovograd. One of the first men over was Guardsman Mikhail Stepanovich Tsyganov, 4th Company, 2nd Battalion of the 208th Guards Rifle Regiment. His unit first had to capture a defended nameless island near the west bank; after helping to secure the German trenches Tsyganov forded the river channel and carried a red flag through heavy small arms and artillery fire before planting it on a small hill just inland, inspiring the comrades of his company to follow his example. On February 22, 1944 Krasnoarmeets Tsyganov would be made a Hero of the Soviet Union. Postwar he worked in several responsible positions until his health forced him to retire in 1955 but he lived until 2001. During the same crossing operation Cpt. Vasilii Alekseevich Zhukov, commander of a battalion of the 204th Guards Rifle Regiment, led his men in the assault on the unnamed island and cleared it before continuing to the west bank. In the battles for the bridgehead that followed over the next days Zhukov led several counterattacks which resulted in the destruction of 10 German armored vehicles and up to one-and-a-half battalions of infantry. This officer also became a Hero of the Soviet Union on February 22. In peacetime he worked in mechanical engineering before he died in 1957.

Following these crossing operations the 20th and 21st Guards Corps remained holding a bridgehead northwest of Kremenchug facing the German 320th Infantry Division but it was not given any priority for expansion and in fact on October 18 the 8th Guards Airborne and 80th Guards Rifle Divisions were removed from 4th Guards Army and moved south, leaving the Army with just three divisions under command and the 69th Guards alone in 21st Guards Corps; this situation continued into December. On October 20 Steppe Front was renamed 2nd Ukrainian. Meanwhile, during mid-October the center armies of the Front had driven south from bridgeheads farther to the southeast, liberated Pyatikhatka, and continued as far as Krivoi Rog, although they were forced to fall back from the latter. This advance allowed the 4th Guards Army to substantially expand its bridgehead between Kremenchug and Cherkassy. By November 20 the 2nd and 3rd Ukrainian Fronts were involved in a joint offensive along the Kirovograd axis.

Korsun–Cherkassy Pocket

On this date the 1st Panzer Army reported that its infantry strength had fallen to the lowest tolerable level and Cherkassy was threatened with encirclement. The fighting through the first three weeks of December was largely attritional in nature but around the middle of the month the German line north of Krivoi Rog gave way and soon 2nd Ukrainian Front had cleared the west bank of the Dniepr north to Cherkassy. By January 1, 1944 the 4th Guards Army had been restored to a strength of five divisions and the 21st Guards Corps had the 69th Guards and the 138th Rifle Division under command. The Kirovograd Offensive began on January 5 and involved four armies, although the 4th Guards was in a secondary role, and the city was liberated three days later. The advance to the northwest continued until January 16 by which time the German XI and XXXXII Army Corps, holding the last sector of the Dniepr line, were deeply enveloped. On January 25 the 4th Guards Army, which was still rebuilding in strength, plunged into the front of the German 8th Army southwest of Cherkassy and was helping set the stage for a classic double envelopment in conjunction with two mobile corps of 6th Tank Army attacking from the north. On the afternoon of January 28 the encirclement was closed in conjunction with forces of 1st Ukrainian Front, 56,000 German troops were trapped, and the 69th Guards helped form the inner ring of the encircling forces. Before the German relief attempt began on February 4, as the Army was establishing an outer ring of encirclement, the division was awarded an honorific:

ZVENIGORODKA... 69th Guards Rifle Division (Major General Dzhakhua, Kirill Kocheevich)... The troops who participated in the liberation of Zvenigorodka and nearby towns, by the order of the Supreme High Command of 3 February 1944, and a commendation in Moscow, are given a salute of 20 artillery salvoes from 224 guns.

The fighting for the Korsun Pocket continued until February 17 by which time about 30,000 German troops had managed to escape, roughly half of those originally encircled.

Battles on the Dniestr

Following this victory the division pressed on westward during the Uman–Botoșani Offensive with its 21st Guards Corps, commanded by Maj. Gen. P. I. Fomenko, which now consisted of the 69th, 78th and 80th Guards Rifle Divisions. The leading 78th Guards arrived at the Dniestr River near the villages of Zhura and Mikhailovka, 13 km northeast of Susleni, late on April 2. At dawn the next day this division assaulted across the river, leading to a three-day battle with forward elements of the 3rd Panzer Division defending security outposts in the Bulaeshty region, 6–8 km north of Susleni; the 78th was soon joined by the 69th and 80th Guards in this fighting. It wasn't until midday on April 5 that the Corps' forces were able to drive the panzer troops back to their Susleni strongpoint. Meanwhile, the five divisions of the 20th Guards Corps attacked towards Orhei and Chișinău but gained only 3–5 km against stiffening German resistance from the XXXX and XXXXVII Panzer Corps. The history of 4th Guards Army described the difficulties during its advance:

Overcoming the increasing enemy resistance became more difficult because our forces had inadequate artillery support and ammunition. Of the army's 700 guns no more than 200 of them were in their firing positions. The remainder lagged behind... No less difficult was the process of supplying ammunition to the artillery... We used every conceivable means of transport, including carrying the shells forward by hand.

Despite the many daunting problems caused by the spring rasputitsa, on April 5 the Army commander, Lt. Gen. I. V. Galanin, resumed the offensive. Four divisions of 20th Guards Corps assaulted the defenses of the 13th and 3rd Panzer Divisions west and north of Orhei but made only modest gains in heavy fighting. The next day the 5th Guards Airborne and 41st Guards managed to seize the city but the arrival of the 11th Panzer Division halted any further advance. Marshal I. S. Konev, the Front commander, was determined to take Chișinău and on April 8 Galanin ordered his two Guards corps to assault and crush the positions of 3rd Panzer south of Susleni. Over two days the German defenses were pounded by artillery and mortar fire and repeated ground assaults but XXXX Panzer Corps threw in reserves to stabilise the situation. On April 10 and 11 Galanin reinforced the see-saw battle for the Orhei bridgehead with the 69th and 80th Guards but his move was met by the 14th Panzer Division which joined the German counterattacks. Overnight on April 12/13 most of the Panzer Corps withdrew south of the Reut River where the 69th Guards already held a bridgehead and its Corps-mates soon linked up to expand this lodgement to about 11 km in width and as much as 5 km in depth. But by now the 4th Guards Army was so depleted from months of fighting that it was no longer capable of offensive operations; the 69th Guards, like the Army's other divisions, was down to roughly 5,000 personnel. On April 18 Konev authorized Galanin to go over to the defense.

Second Jassy-Kishinev Offensive

Prior to the start of the August offensive that forced Romania out of the Axis the 21st Guards Corps was transferred to the 52nd Army, still in 2nd Ukrainian Front. The Corps deployed on a 3 km-wide assault front with the 69th and 62nd Guards Rifle Divisions in the first echelon and the 254th Rifle Division in second. The Corps had a total of 915 guns and mortars in support, with 488 (including 82mm mortars) backing the 69th. The Army's front lines were roughly 16 km due north of Iași. The 18th Tank Corps was in the Army's reserve and was expected to enter the breach in the Axis lines once the Bahlui River was reached.

Following an artillery preparation which lasted an hour and 40 minutes the offensive began on the morning of August 20. The 52nd Army broke through the Axis defense along a 12 km front, advancing 16 km during the day, forcing the Bahlui in the process and ending the day fighting along the northern outskirts of Iași in the area of the railway station. The main efforts of the defenders were to prevent a breakthrough to the city but the 21st Guards Corps was able to reach a line from south of Kozjacka Nou to Munteni, facing south. The following day the 73rd Rifle Corps was to capture Iași while the 21st Guards Corps paved the way for the 18th Tank Corps. It then attacked along the southern bank of the Bahlui and by the end of the day reached a line from Mogoșești to Ciurea; at this time the 69th Guards was in the Corps' second echelon. During August 22 the 18th Tanks broke into the clear and advanced more than 50 km towards Huși, which eased the way for the 62nd Guards and 254th Divisions to reach from Rediul to Cuiaba. On the same day Iași was liberated and on September 15 the division would be awarded the Order of the Red Banner for its role in the battle.

Overnight the Axis forces in the Iași area attempted to withdraw to a new line along the left bank of the Deia River but were unsuccessful due to the pace of the 52nd Army's advance. On August 23 the Army advanced significantly, pushing aside small enemy rearguards and mopping up units that had been scattered by 18th Tanks. By the end of the day the 21st Guards Corps, with the 69th Guards still in second echelon, had pushed south of Vaslui to Bahnari to east of Solești. The following day the Army continued to develop the offensive and the Corps encountered only insignificant resistance, reaching a line from Vutcani to Hurdugi.

By now the 2nd and 3rd Ukrainian Fronts had jointly encircled the Axis Chișinău group of forces, most of which was east of the Prut River. The plan for this group of about 70,000 personnel was to force the Prut in the Huși area and then to break through to reach Hungarian territory. The task of preventing this and destroying the Axis forces in the Huși area fell to the 52nd Army. On August 24 the 21st Guards Corps was directed to occupy a line from Berezeni to Stănilești by the morning of the next day which gave each first echelon division a 14 km-wide frontage to cover. By the end of August 25 the 69th Guards had extended its front from the 62nd Guards' left flank to the Prut at a right angle to the latter. In the process of the advance on August 24 the cities of Huși, Bacău, Bârlad and Roman were all occupied and on September 15 each of the regiments of the division would be decorated in consequence. The 206th Guards Rifle Regiment received the Order of the Red Banner, the 208th Guards Rifle Regiment and the 139th Guards Artillery Regiment each won the Order of Kutuzov, 3rd Degree, and the 204th Guards Rifle Regiment was recognized with the Order of Alexander Nevsky.

The German XXXXIV, XXX and LII Army Corps planned to start their breakout at midnight on August 24/25 in the general direction of Huși. Command and control had broken down in the encircled grouping and the escape efforts were widely scattered; heavy equipment was being abandoned or destroyed at the Prut. The withdrawal continued into the next night as the three Corps split into separate combat groups while the 21st Guards Corps reached a line from Murgeni to Fălciu to Berezeni and joined hands with the 3rd Ukrainian Front while part of its forces turned north to combat German forces in woods southwest of Huși. On August 27 the Corps beat off German attacks south and southwest of Hurdugi while continuing to hold defensive positions along the Prut. From this date until September 5 the 52nd Army was involved in completing the elimination of the Chișinău group. During the afternoon of the 28th a significant group of German troops managed to push south on a road to Vutcani despite resistance from 21st Guards Corps and consequent heavy losses. Remnants of five German divisions which had managed to break through to Vutcani began a withdrawal through the rear areas of 2nd Ukrainian Front on August 29 with 21st Guards Corps in pursuit as far as the Bârlad River. The German objective now was to cross the Siret River, and broke up into small detachments for the purpose. The total strength of these detachments was roughly 10,000 men, but between September 1–4 these were eliminated before they could cross the Trotuș River.

During this operation Cpt. Pyotr Georgievich Korochkin, commander of the 3rd Battalion of the 139th Guards Artillery Regiment, became a Hero of the Soviet Union. At the start on August 20, as the rifle troops came under heavy Axis artillery and mortar fire, Korochkin deployed two of his batteries for direct fire and suppressed these guns, paving the way for the capture of a dominant height. On August 28, during heavy fighting with German troops attempting to break out of the encirclement his guns ran out of ammunition. Korochkin organized his gunners for hand-to-hand combat which restored their positions; in the course of this he personally accounted for 18 German troops killed or wounded but was then killed himself. On March 24, 1945 Captain Korochkin would be posthumously awarded the Gold Star.

Into the Balkans

At the start of October the 69th Guards, with the remainder of 21st Guards Corps, had returned to 4th Guards Army, which was in the Reserve of the Supreme High Command for rebuilding as the 2nd and 3rd Ukrainian Fronts advanced into Romania and Hungary. When the Army returned to the fighting in the third week of November it joined the latter Front in the area where the 57th Army had recently forced a crossing of the Danube near Mohács. On November 29 Axis resistance in the crossing area was effectively crushed and the 62nd and 69th Guards moved to the west bank in the wake of the 41st Guards and were ready to enter the fighting the next day.

As of December 19 the Front had completed its preparations for the third stage of its operation to encircle and eliminate the German-Hungarian Budapest group of forces. 4th Guards Army occupied a 44km line from Lake Velence to Lake Balaton with 21st Guards Corps along the Army's secondary axis. By December 26 the Hungarian capital had been encircled, the remaining Axis forces had been forced back up to 40km from the city, and the 4th Guards Army, along with the 5th Guards Cavalry Corps, had created an external front covering the siege from the west and had captured several strongpoints on the approaches to Székesfehérvár and Kisfalud; the 69th Guards had been ordered to detach from the Corps the previous day and move to the area of the former city. By the end of December 4th Guards Army had Székesfehérvár surrounded on three sides before going over to the defense. At this time the 21st Guards Corps was facing the Hungarian 25th Infantry Division, the 44th Training Regiment and the 85th Landing Battalion.

Battles for Budapest

Before dawn on January 2 the IV SS Panzer Corps began Operation Konrad I in an attempt to relieve Budapest. The German forces attacked from the direction of Tata and 4th Guards Army took emergency measures to shore up its right flank; among these the 69th Guards extended its frontage to free up the 62nd Guards to move into reserve in the Székesfehérvár area. The Army's commander, Army Gen. G. F. Zakharov, was determined to halt the German drive northwest of Bicske. By January 6 the division had been reassigned to the 135th Rifle Corps but continued to hold its previous positions. In the event this phase of the offensive was halted on the same day by the 31st Guards Rifle Corps.

The second phase of Operation Konrad began on January 7 as the German command shifted the 23rd Panzer Division northwest of Székesfehérvár along with the rest of the III Panzer Corps. It was soon apparent that the immediate goal of the offensive was Bicske with an additional threat along the axis to Zámoly. The 135th Corps (69th Guards, 252nd Rifle Division and 1st Guards Fortified Region) defended along the Army's left flank. Overnight on January 7/8 the 69th Guards' sector was relieved by units of the 252nd and 1st Guards and pulled back into Army reserve in the Székesfehérvár area to organize the defense of the city from the north. This phase of the offensive was brought to a halt a few days later. The third phase began on January 18 and the Army's main concern became the defense of Székesfehérvár; the division had by now returned to 21st Guards Corps, forming its second echelon behind the 41st Guards and 84th Rifle Divisions and was one of the few reserves available to Zakharov as the offensive opened.

IV SS Panzer Corps planned to launch its assault along a 15km front held by the 252nd Division's 928th Rifle Regiment and the entire sector of 1st Guards Fortified Region with a total of 560 tanks. Despite an hour-long artillery preparation and air support the first German attacks were beaten back. Eventually the 1st Guard's defenses were overcome and Ősi and Sandorka were captured. By day's end the panzers had advanced from 16-30km. The 69th Guards occupied defensive positions along the western and southern outskirts of Székesfehérvár. Overnight General Zakharov reorganized his defense, ordered the bridges over the Sárvíz Canal blown, and assigned the division to the direct defense of the town. At dawn the 5th SS Panzer Division Wiking and 3rd SS Panzer Division Totenkopf forced the canal and continued to develop their offensive to the east, striving to reach the Danube. The advance made little further progress that day and the battle for Székesfehérvár continued through January 20 as Soviet artillery was brought up to reinforce the antitank defenses. The two SS divisions focused their efforts that day and the next on the reinforced 5th Guards Cavalry Corps between Lake Velence and the Danube but without notable success.

The German plan for January 22 involved a short artillery preparation at 0530 hours after which the 5th SS and 1st Panzer Divisions attacked towards Székesfehérvár with the former advancing on the eastern suburbs while the latter headed for the western outskirts. Elements of the 23rd Panzer Division also attacked towards the town from the direction of Sárkeresztes. Under the circumstances of near-encirclement the impact of more than 150 tanks and assault guns managed to force the 21st Guards Corps back and to capture the town and its suburbs by 1800 hours. The next day the IV SS Panzer Corps again concentrated its attacks on 5th Guards Cavalry Corps intending to finally break through to Budapest although by now it was running very low on fuel. Overnight on January 25/26 the German forces launched a surprise night offensive which made some gains and put 4th Guards Army in a difficult situation. Zakharov reacted by, among other measures, shifting one rifle regiment of the 69th Guards to the area south of Vereb, occupying defensive positions along the Gyula sector; this regiment was reinforced with artillery and a small number of tanks and self-propelled guns. Meanwhile, the Front managed to concentrate sufficient reserves to bring Konrad to a halt on January 27.

Apart from a handful that managed to break out the remaining Axis troops in the city were forced to surrender on February 13. On April 5 the 139th Guards Artillery Regiment would be awarded the Order of Suvorov, 3rd Degree, for its part in this victory. Following the defeat of the German Operation Spring Awakening in March the 21st Guards Corps went over to the offensive with the remainder of 4th Guards Army. Crossing the border into Austria on April 1 the division captured the town of Eisenstadt and shortly after entered Vienna where it ended the war.

Postwar

At the time of the German surrender the men and women of the division held the full official title of 69th Guards Rifle, Zvenigorodka, Order of the Red Banner Division. (Russian: 69-я гвардейская стрелковая Звенигородская Краснознамённая дивизия.) After the war it underwent several reorganizations in the Southern Group of forces before finally becoming the 70th Guards Mechanized Division in 1953.

References

Citations

1. Charles C. Sharp, "Red Guards", Soviet Guards Rifle and Airborne Units 1941 to 1945, Soviet Order of Battle World War II, Vol. IV, Nafziger, 1995, p. 72
2. http://www.generals.dk mistakenly states that Dzhakhua commanded the 60th Guards Rifle Division.
3. David M. Glantz, Endgame at Stalingrad, Book Two, University Press of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, 2014, p. 575
4. Combat Composition of the Soviet Army, 1943, pp. 73, 96, 121, 147, 175, 206
5. Soviet General Staff, The Battle of Kursk, ed. & trans. R. W. Harrison, Helion & Co., Ltd., Solihull, UK, 2016, Kindle ed., Book 2, ch. 2
6. http://www.warheroes.ru/hero/hero.asp?Hero_id=4452. In Russian; English translation available. Retrieved August 23, 2020.
7. Soviet General Staff, The Battle of the Dnepr, ed. & trans. R. W. Harrison, Helion & Co., Ltd., Solihull, UK, 2018, pp. 27-29, 46, 49, 182-83
8. http://www.warheroes.ru/hero/hero.asp?Hero_id=5574. In Russian; English translation available. Retrieved August 24, 2020.
9. http://www.warheroes.ru/hero/hero.asp?Hero_id=7672. In Russian; English translation available. Retrieved August 24, 2020.
10. Combat Composition of the Soviet Army, 1943, pp. 250, 279, 308
11. Soviet General Staff, The Battle of the Dnepr, pp. 163, 244
12. Earl F. Ziemke, Stalingrad to Berlin, Center of Military History United States Army, Washington, DC, 1968, pp. 188-89
13. Combat Composition of the Soviet Army, 1944, p. 17
14. Ziemke, Stalingrad to Berlin, pp. 219, 224-29
15. http://www.soldat.ru/spravka/freedom/1-ssr-2.html. In Russian. Retrieved August 27, 2020.
16. Ziemke, Stalingrad to Berlin, pp. 228, 237
17. Glantz, Red Storm Over the Balkans, University Press of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, 2007, pp. 78-80, 82-86
18. Combat Composition of the Soviet Army, 1944, p. 260
19. Soviet General Staff, The Iasi-Kishinev Operation, ed. & trans. R. W. Harrison, Helion & Co., Ltd., Solihull, UK, 2017, pp. 24, 40, 43
20. Soviet General Staff, The Iasi-Kishinev Operation, pp. 97-99, 104, 110-11
21. Affairs Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of the Soviet Union 1967a, p. 492.
22. Soviet General Staff, The Iasi-Kishinev Operation, pp. 111, 119, 126
23. Soviet General Staff, The Iasi-Kishinev Operation, pp. 131-34
24. Affairs Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of the Soviet Union 1967a, pp. 495–96.
25. Soviet General Staff, The Iasi-Kishinev Operation, pp. 135, 138, 140-43
26. http://www.warheroes.ru/hero/hero.asp?Hero_id=1956. In Russian; English translation available. Retrieved August 29, 2020.
27. Combat Composition of the Soviet Army, 1944, p. 299
28. Soviet General Staff, The Budapest Operation 1945, ed. & trans. R. W. Harrison, Helion & Co., Ltd., Solihull, UK, 2017, pp. 213-14, 219
29. Soviet General Staff, The Budapest Operation 1945, pp. 59-61, 69-73, 268, 274
30. Soviet General Staff, The Budapest Operation 1945, pp. 278-82, 284, 287-88
31. Soviet General Staff, The Budapest Operation 1945, pp. 291-92, 294, 297, 301
32. Soviet General Staff, The Budapest Operation 1945, pp. 302-06, 309
33. Soviet General Staff, The Budapest Operation 1945, pp. 310-12, 315-16
34. Affairs Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of the Soviet Union 1967b, p. 42.

Bibliography

• Affairs Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of the Soviet Union (1967a). Сборник приказов РВСР, РВС СССР, НКО и Указов Президиума Верховного Совета СССР о награждении орденами СССР частей, соединениий и учреждений ВС СССР. Часть I. 1920 - 1944 гг [Collection of orders of the RVSR, RVS USSR and NKO on awarding orders to units, formations and establishments of the Armed Forces of the USSR. Part I. 1920–1944] (PDF) (in Russian). Moscow. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2019-03-27. Retrieved 2020-08-23.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
• Affairs Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of the Soviet Union (1967b). Сборник приказов РВСР, РВС СССР, НКО и Указов Президиума Верховного Совета СССР о награждении орденами СССР частей, соединениий и учреждений ВС СССР. Часть II. 1945 – 1966 гг [Collection of orders of the RVSR, RVS USSR and NKO on awarding orders to units, formations and establishments of the Armed Forces of the USSR. Part II. 1945–1966] (in Russian). Moscow.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
• Grylev, A. N. (1970). Перечень № 5. Стрелковых, горнострелковых, мотострелковых и моторизованных дивизии, входивших в состав Действующей армии в годы Великой Отечественной войны 1941-1945 гг [List (Perechen) No. 5: Rifle, Mountain Rifle, Motor Rifle and Motorized divisions, part of the active army during the Great Patriotic War 1941–1945] (in Russian). Moscow: Voenizdat. p. 187
• Main Personnel Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of the Soviet Union (1964). Командование корпусного и дивизионного звена советских вооруженных сил периода Великой Отечественной войны 1941–1945 гг [Commanders of Corps and Divisions in the Great Patriotic War, 1941–1945] (in Russian). Moscow: Frunze Military Academy. pp. 158, 323

External links

• Kirill Kocheevich Dzhakhua
• 69th Guards at Pamyat Naroda.ru

v t e List of Soviet divisions (1917–1945)
Airborne	1st Guards 2nd Guards 3rd Guards 4th Guards 5th Guards 6th Guards 7th Guards 8th Guards 9th Guards 10th Guards 11th Guards 12th Guards 13th Guards 14th Guards 15th Guards 16th Guards
Cavalry	1st 1st Guards 2nd 2nd Guards 3rd 3rd Guards 4th 4th Guards 5th 5th Guards 6th 6th Guards 7th 7th Guards 8th 8th Guards 9th 9th Guards 10th 10th Guards 11th 11th Guards 12th 12th Guards 13th 13th Guards 14th 14th Guards 15th 15th Guards 16th 16th Guards 17th Mountain 17th Guards 18th 19th 20th 21st Mountain 22nd 23rd 24th 25th 26th 27th 28th 29th 30th 31st 32nd 33rd 34th 35th 36th 37th 38th 39th 40th 41st 42nd 43rd 44th 45th 46th 47th 48th 49th 50th 51st 52nd 53rd 54th 55th 56th 57th 58th 59th 60th 61st 62nd 63rd 65th 66th 67th 68th 70th 72nd 73rd 74th 75th 76th 77th 78th 79th 80th 81st 82nd 83rd 84th 87th 91st 94th 97th 98th 99th 100th 101st 102nd 103rd 104th 105th 106th 107th 108th 109th 110th 111th 112th 113th 114th 115th 116th
Rifle	1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th 7th 8th 9th 10th 11th 12th 13th 14th 15th 16th 17th 18th 19th 20th 21st 22nd 23rd 24th 25th 26th 27th 28th 29th 30th 31st 32nd 33rd 34th 35th 36th 37th 38th 39th 40th 41st 42nd 43rd 44th 45th 46th 47th 48th 49th 50th 51st 52nd 53rd 54th 55th 56th 57th 58th 59th 60th 61st 62nd 63rd 64th (1925) 64th (1942) 65th 66th 67th 69th 70th 71st 72nd 73rd 74th 75th 76th 77th 78th 79th 80th 81st 82nd 83rd 84th 85th 86th 87th 88th 89th 90th 91st 92nd 93rd (1936) 93rd (June 1942) 94th 95th 96th 97th 98th 99th 100th 101st 102nd 103rd 104th 105th 106th 107th 108th 109th 110th 111th 112th 113th 114th 115th 116th 117th 118th 119th 120th 121st 122nd 123rd 124th 125th 126th 127th 128th 129th 130th 131st 132nd 133rd 134th 135th 136th 137th 138th 139th 140th 141st 142nd 143rd 144th 145th 146th 147th 148th 149th 150th 151st 152nd 153rd 154th 155th 156th 157th 158th 159th 160th (1940) 160th (1941) 161st 162nd 163rd 164th 165th 166th 167th 168th 169th 170th 171st 172nd 173rd 174th 175th 176th 177th 178th 179th 180th 181st 182nd 183rd 184th 185th 186th (1939) 186th (1941) 187th 188th 189th 190th 191st 192nd (1942) 192nd 193rd 194th 195th 196th 197th 198th 199th 200th 201st 202nd 203rd 204th 205th 206th 207th 208th 209th 210th 211th 212th 213th 214th 215th 216th 217th 218th 219th 220th 221st 222nd 223rd 224th 225th 226th 227th 228th 229th 230th 231st 232nd 233rd 234th 235th 236th 237th 238th 239th 240th 241st 242nd 243rd 244th 245th 246th 247th 248th 249th 250th 251st 252nd 253rd 254th 255th 256th 257th (July 1941) 257th (November 1941) 257th (July 1943) 258th 259th 260th 261st 262nd 263rd 264th 265th 266th 267th 268th 269th 270th 271st 272nd 273rd 274th 275th 276th 277th 278th 279th 280th 281st 282nd 283rd 284th 285th 286th 287th 288th 289th 290th 291st 292nd 293rd 294th 295th 296th 297th 298th 299th 300th 301st 302nd 303rd 304th 305th 306th 307th 308th 309th 310th 311th 312th 313th 314th 315th 316th 317th 318th 319th 320th 321st 322nd 323rd 324th 325th 326th 327th 328th 329th 330th 331st 332nd 333rd 334th 335th 336th 337th 338th 339th 340th 341st 342nd 343rd 344th 345th 346th 347th 348th 349th 350th 351st 352nd 353rd 354th 355th 356th 357th 358th 359th 360th 361st 362nd 363rd 364th 365th 366th 367th 368th 369th 370th 371st 372nd 373rd 374th 375th 376th 377th 378th 379th 380th 381st 382nd 383rd 384th 385th 386th 387th 388th 389th 390th 391st 392nd 393rd 394th 395th 396th 397th 398th 399th 400th 402nd 403rd 404th 406th 407th 408th 409th 411th 413th 414th 415th 416th 417th 421st 422nd 2nd Priamur 1st Crimean 2nd Crimean 1st Polar Petrozavodsk Mountain 60th 63rd 68th 72nd 83rd 192nd Reserve 10th 34th 35th 36th 41st 50th Lithuanian Guards 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th 7th 8th 9th 10th 11th 12th 13th 14th 15th 16th 17th 18th 19th 20th 21st 22nd 23rd 24th 25th 26th 27th 28th 29th 30th 31st 32nd 33rd 34th 35th 36th 37th 38th 39th 40th 41st 42nd 43rd 44th 45th 46th 47th 48th 49th 50th 51st 52nd 53rd 54th 55th 56th 57th 58th 59th 60th 61st 62nd 63rd 64th 65th 66th 67th 68th 69th 70th 71st 72nd 73rd 74th 75th 76th 77th 78th 79th 80th 81st 82nd 83rd 84th 85th 86th 87th 88th 89th 90th 91st 92nd 93rd 94th 95th 96th 97th 98th 99th 100th 101st 102nd 103rd 104th 105th 106th 107th 108th 109th 110th 111th 112th 113th 114th 115th 116th 117th 118th 119th 120th 121st 122nd 124th 125th 126th 128th 129th
Motorized	7th 15th 29th 36th 69th 81st 82nd 84th 103rd 109th 131st 163rd 185th 198th 202nd 204th 205th 208th 209th 210th 212th 213th 215th 216th 218th 219th 220th 221st 236th 239th 240th
Tank	1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th 7th 8th 9th 10th 11th 12th 13th 14th 15th 16th 17th 18th 19th 20th 21st 22nd 23rd 24th 25th 26th 27th 28th 29th 30th 31st 32nd 33rd 34th 35th 36th 37th 38th 39th 40th 41st 42nd 43rd 44th 45th 46th 47th 48th 49th 50th 51st 52nd 53rd 54th 55th 56th 57th 58th 59th 60th 61st 101st 102nd 103rd 104th 105th 106th 107th 108th 109th 110th 111th 112th Amur Ussuri
Motor Rifle	2nd Guards 3rd Guards 36th 57th 82nd 101st 106th 107th 112th 3rd Crimean
Other	Latvian Riflemen Soviet Divisions NKVD OMSDON People's Militia Reboly Direction Division Guards unit Destruction battalions

• Infantry divisions of the Soviet Union in World War II
• Military units and formations established in 1943
• Military units and formations disestablished in 1953
• Military units and formations awarded the Order of the Red Banner
• 1943 establishments in the Soviet Union
• 1953 disestablishments in the Soviet Union