Operation Barbarossa Defense of Pskov Siege of Leningrad First Rzhev–Sychyovka Offensive Operation Operation Mars Rzhev-Vyazma Offensive (1943) Mius Offensive Donbas Strategic Offensive (August 1943) Lower Dnieper Offensive Melitopol Offensive Nikopol–Krivoi Rog Offensive First Jassy-Kishinev Offensive Lvov–Sandomierz Offensive Vistula-Oder Offensive Lower Silesian Offensive Berlin Offensive Battle of the Oder–Neisse Spremberg–Torgau Offensive Operation Battle of Bautzen (1945) Prague Offensive
Decorations
Order of the Red Banner (3rd Formation)
Battle honours
Melitopol (3rd Formation)
Commanders
Notable commanders
Maj. Gen. Nikolai Mikhailovich Glovatskii Col. Afanasy Safronov Col. Andrei Yakovlevich Vedenin Col. Fyodor Grigorevich Dobrovolskii Maj. Gen. Mikhail Afanasevich Sukhanov
Military unit
The 118th Rifle Division was thrice formed as an infantry division of the Red Army, first as part of the prewar buildup of forces. The first formation was based on the shtat (table of organization and equipment) of September 13, 1939. It was based at Kostroma through its early existence. After the German invasion in June 1941 it was rushed to the front as part of the 41st Rifle Corps and arrived at the Pskov Fortified Area between July 2–4. Under pressure from the 4th Panzer Group the division commander, Maj. Gen. Nikolai Mikhailovich Glovatsky, requested permission on July 8 to retreat east across the Velikaya River. There is some question if he received written orders and in any case the retreat fell into chaos due to a prematurely-blown bridge. Glovatskii was arrested on July 19, sentenced to death a week later and shot on August 3. The battered division had by then moved north to Gdov and came under command of 8th Army but could not be rebuilt due to a lack of replacements and on September 27 it was disbanded.
A new division began forming in the Gorki Oblast of Moscow Military District in January 1942 based on the shtat of December 6, 1941 and was soon numbered as the second formation of the 118th. It spent a full six months in formation and training before it was assigned to the 31st Army in Western Front. It was soon committed to action in the summer offensive to eliminate the German forces in the Rzhev–Sychyovka area and contributed to the liberation of Zubtsov in late August. The division saw limited action in Operation Mars in November–December and in March 1943 was one of the first units to enter Rzhev as it was evacuated by German 9th Army. The division had performed well enough that it was redesignated as the 85th Guards Rifle Division in April, serving under the 10th Guards Army.
The third 118th Rifle Division was raised in mid-May 1943 in Southern Front under the shtat of December 10, 1942, based on a rifle brigade. It was immediately assigned to 28th Army and remained under that headquarters until November, fighting through the Donbas and towards the lower Dniepr and winning a battle honor following the protracted battle for Melitopol in late October. After an abortive attempt to force its way into the Crimea it was transferred to the 9th Rifle Corps of 5th Shock Army and then moved to 57th Army with that Corps in the spring of 1944. After the Soviet offensive stalled along the Dniestr River the division was moved to the Reserve of the Supreme High Command in June before being reassigned to the 5th Guards Army where it mostly served in the 34th Guards Rifle Corps for the duration of the war. In early August it entered the Sandomierz bridgehead across the Vistula and remained there until the start of the Vistula-Oder Offensive in January 1945 when it broke out and advanced through Poland and into Germany with the rest of 1st Ukrainian Front. During the Berlin operation the 5th Guards advanced toward Dresden and following the German surrender the 118th was awarded the Order of the Red Banner for its part in the late April battles southeast of that city. The division was disbanded in 1946.
and 23 Related for: 118th Rifle Division information
The 118thRifleDivision was thrice formed as an infantry division of the Red Army, first as part of the prewar buildup of forces. The first formation...
118thDivision or 118th Infantry Division may refer to: 118thDivision (People's Republic of China) 118th Jäger Division (Wehrmacht) 118thDivision (Imperial...
The 118th Estonian Guards RifleDivision was an elite infantry division of the Red Army and later the Soviet Army. It was formed following the German...
The 175th RifleDivision was originally formed as an infantry division of the Red Army in the North Caucasus Military District in July 1940, based on the...
commander of the 118thRifleDivision on 19 August. On 27 September, the remnants of the division were merged into the 48th RifleDivision, which Safronov...
The 94th RifleDivision (Russian: 94-я стрелковая дивизия) was an infantry division of the Red Army that became part of the Soviet Army. Formed in the...
Naval Staff, and in October 1939 appointed chief of staff of the 118thRifleDivision in the North Caucasus Military District. From November 1939 to October...
The 150th Idritsa-Berlin Order of Kutuzov 2nd Class Motor RifleDivision (Russian: Russian: 150-я Идрицко-Берлинская ордена Кутузова 2-й степени мотострелковая...
Motor Rifle Division's 118th and 126th Motor Rifle Regiments. On 24 May 1962, it was converted to a training motor rifledivision. On 22 February 1968,...
Stalingrad a combined unit based on the 118th Guards Rifle Regiment, subordinated to the 138th RifleDivision. After a few days, the combined unit was...
The 69th RifleDivision was an infantry division of the Red Army and later the Soviet Army, formed twice. It was first formed in 1936 from the 3rd Kolkhoz...
Banner" Motor RifleDivision (Military Unit Number 29410 until September 1987; MUN 28320 thereafter) is a Russian military unit. The division was formed...
The 44th Kievskaya of the Red Banner RifleDivision of Nikolay Shchors, or 44th Kievskaya for short, was an elite military formation of the Soviet Union...
became part of the 118thRifle Corps, which was soon transferred to the 67th Army. Fighting in the Tartu Offensive in August, the division captured the key...
The 223rd RifleDivision was an infantry division of the Red Army, originally formed as one of the first reserve rifledivisions following the German invasion...
Guards Estonian Tallinn Rifle Corps. The two component divisions were also honored; the 7th became the 118th Guards RifleDivision and the 249th became the...
The 416th RifleDivision was formed for the first time as a standard Red Army rifledivision late in 1941, after the Soviet winter counteroffensive had...
The 191st RifleDivision was an infantry division of the Red Army, originally formed as part of the prewar buildup of forces, based on the shtat (table...
The 253rd RifleDivision was formed in the Odessa Military District as a reserve infantry division of the Red Army about two weeks after the German invasion...
Global Information
Soviet Union
Red Army
Order of the Red Banner (3rd Formation)