3rd Rifle Division (Soviet Union)

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3rd Rifle Division
Active1921–1946
Country Soviet Union
BranchRed Army
TypeInfantry
EngagementsWorld War II
DecorationsOrder of the red Banner OBVERSE.jpgOrder of the Red Banner
Battle honoursOn behalf of the Presidium of the Supreme Council of the Presidium of the Crimean Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic

The 3rd Rifle Division was an infantry division of the Soviet Army. It was formed in 1921 in Crimea. The division relocated to Svobodny in the Far East during 1939 and moved to Blagoveshchensk soon after. The division fought in the Soviet invasion of Manchuria and was disbanded in 1946.

History[edit]

It was formed 5 June 1921 in the Ukraine Military District. It appears that Order No. № 724/284 created the division from the 3rd and 46th Separate Rifle Brigades. At the beginning of World War II it was located in Blagoveshchensk, assigned to the 2nd Red Banner Army of the Far Eastern Front.[1] The division remained on the Far Eastern Front from 1941 to 1945 and was not redeployed to fight the Germans.

At the very end of World War II it was involved in the Sungari Army Group Operation with 2nd Red Banner Army. It forced the Amur and Ussuri rivers, and captured several cities in China from the Japanese Kwantung Army. Immediate post war the Division was in 1st Red Banner Army, Transbaikal-Amur Military District, 136th Rifle Corps, alongside 12 RD, 396th Rifle Division and 101st Fortified Region/MGAD. For its actions in Manchuria, the division was awarded the Order of the Red Banner on 14 September.[2]

It was disbanded on 30 August 1946 after being transferred to the 26th Rifle Corps. The Division's full name just before being disbanded was 3rd Rifle Red Banner Division named for the Presidium of the Supreme Council of the Crimean ASSR.[3][4]

References[edit]

  1. ^ БОЕВОЙ СОСТАВ СОВЕТСКОЙ АРМИИ, ЧАСТЬ I (июнь-декабрь 1941 года) [Combat Composition of the Soviet Army, Part I (June–December 1941)] (PDF) (in Russian). Moscow: Military Academy of the General Staff. 1963. p. 13.
  2. ^ Affairs Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of the Soviet Union 1967, p. 417.
  3. ^ Feskov et al 2013, p. 566
  4. ^ Avanzini, Michael; Crofoot, Craig (2004-10-01). Armies of the Bear. Tiger Lily Publications LLC. pp. 25–26. ISBN 9780972029636.

Sources[edit]