58th Guards Rifle Division
The 58th Guards Rifle Division () was an elite Guards infantry division of the Red Army during World War II. It was formed in June 1942 as the 1st Rifle Division (1st formation) and was converted into the 58th Guards Rifle Division at the end of the year for its actions in Operation Little Saturn. Advancing into Ukraine, the division participated in the Third Battle of Kharkov in early 1943. From midyear it fought in the Belgorod–Kharkov Offensive, the Battle of the Dnieper, and the Dnieper–Carpathian Offensive, receiving the honorific Krasnograd for its capture of that city and the Order of the Red Banner. After capturing the Sandomierz bridgehead at the end of the Lvov–Sandomierz Offensive, the division fought in the Sandomierz–Silesian Offensive in January 1945, receiving the Order of Suvorov for its crossing of the Oder. It was the first to meet American forces on the Elbe during the Berlin Offensive on 25 April 1945, receiving the Order of Lenin. For its actions ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Soviet Union
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national republics; in practice, both its government and its economy were highly centralized until its final years. It was a one-party state governed by the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, with the city of Moscow serving as its capital as well as that of its largest and most populous republic: the Russian SFSR. Other major cities included Leningrad (Russian SFSR), Kiev (Ukrainian SSR), Minsk ( Byelorussian SSR), Tashkent (Uzbek SSR), Alma-Ata (Kazakh SSR), and Novosibirsk (Russian SFSR). It was the largest country in the world, covering over and spanning eleven time zones. The country's roots lay in the October Revolution of 1917, when the Bolsheviks, under the leadership of Vladimir Lenin, overthrew the Russian Provisional Government ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis powers. World War II was a total war that directly involved more than 100 million personnel from more than 30 countries. The major participants in the war threw their entire economic, industrial, and scientific capabilities behind the war effort, blurring the distinction between civilian and military resources. Aircraft played a major role in the conflict, enabling the strategic bombing of population centres and deploying the only two nuclear weapons ever used in war. World War II was by far the deadliest conflict in human history; it resulted in 70 to 85 million fatalities, mostly among civilians. Tens of millions died due to genocides (including the Holocaust), starvation, ma ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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63rd Army (Soviet Union)
The 63rd Army was a field army of the Red Army during World War II. It was formed on 10 July 1942, by the order of Headquarters Red Army Supreme Command № 994110, by renaming Stavka's 5th Reserve Army. History Since 12 July 1942 the army was incorporated into the newly created Stalingrad Front for defensive battles on approaches to Stalingrad. On 30 September 1942 Stalingrad Front was renamed as Don Front for the battle within the city. On 29 October 1942 the army subordinated to the reconstructed Southwestern Front for the Operation Uranus counter-offensive. On 4 November 1942 the 63rd Army was reflagged as the 1st Guards Army, which was named the 3rd Guards Army since 5 December. 27 April 1943 the Army was formed for the second time on the basis of the 2nd Reserve Army. Originally it consisted of the 129th, 235th, 250th, 348th, 380th and 397th Rifle Divisions, artillery, engineering, and other parts. On 29 April 1943 the army was incorporated into the Bryansk Fro ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Gulag
The Gulag, an acronym for , , "chief administration of the camps". The original name given to the system of camps controlled by the GPU was the Main Administration of Corrective Labor Camps (, )., name=, group= was the government agency in charge of the Soviet network of forced labour camps which were set up by order of Vladimir Lenin, reaching its peak during Joseph Stalin's rule from the 1930s to the early 1950s. English-language speakers also use the word ''gulag'' in reference to each of the forced-labor camps that existed in the Soviet Union, including the camps that existed in the post-Lenin era. The Gulag is recognized as a major instrument of political repression in the Soviet Union. The camps housed a wide range of convicts, from petty criminals to political prisoners, a large number of whom were convicted by simplified procedures, such as NKVD troikas or other instruments of extrajudicial punishment. In 1918–22, the agency was administered by the Cheka, follow ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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9th Sapper Army
A Sapper Army (russian: сапёрная армия) was a multi-brigade military construction engineer formation of the Engineer Troops (Soviet Union) of the Soviet Red Army during World War II. Formed to construct large-scale defensive works, sapper armies were used from late 1941 until mid-1942 when the Red Army opted to organize smaller and more flexible construction engineer formations. Although the organization of military construction engineers into an army-level echelon was unusual, the use of dedicated troops for military construction was common to many armies of World War II. History Reeling from the German invasion of 1941, the Soviets decided to organize large military construction engineer formations to construct defensive works on a massive scale. The Soviets hoped such works would strengthen Red Army defensive operations and buy enough time to rebuild their forces for a counter-offensive. Consequently, the high command ordered the formation of the first sapper armie ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Table Of Organization And Equipment
A table of organization and equipment (TOE or TO&E) is the specified organization, staffing, and equipment of Military unit, units. Also used in acronyms as 'T/O' and 'T/E'. It also provides information on the mission and capabilities of a unit as well as the unit's current status. A general TOE is applicable to a type of unit (for instance, an infantry battalion) rather than a specific unit (the 2nd Battalion, 4th Infantry Regiment (United States), 4th Infantry Regiment). Sometimes, all units of the same branch (such as Infantry) follow the same structural guidelines; much more often, there are a wide variety of TOEs to suit specific circumstances (Modified Tables of Organization and Equipment (MTOEs), in the United States Army, for example). Soviet Union and Russia In the Red Army, Soviet and the Russian Armed Forces the term used for TO&E since the 1930s is ''"Shtatnoe raspisanie"'' (''Штатное расписание'', literally translated as Shtat Prescription). It orig ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Volga Military District
The Volga Military District (PriVO) was a military district of the Soviet Union and the Russian Federation that existed from 1918 to 1989 and 1992 to 2001. The district headquarters was located at Kazan, Saratov and Kuibyshev (Samara) at different points in time. History During the Russian Empire from 1864–1917 the Kazan Military District covered the Volga area. The Volga Military District was established on May 4, 1918 on the territory of the Kazan Military District, and included Astrakhan, Saratov, Samara, Simbirsk and Penza Governorates, and the Ural Oblast. Subsequently, the district boundaries were repeatedly changed.Soviet Military Encyclopedia 6 524–525 In 1941 the district included the Saratov, Kuibyshev, Penza, Tambov, Voronezh areas and the Orel Oblast, Kursk and Stalingrad regions of the RSFSR. The headquarters was located at Saratov. With the start of and during World War II five armies, 132 divisions, 65 separate regiments, and 253 separate battalions were f ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Kuybyshev Oblast
Samara Oblast ( rus, Сама́рская о́бласть, r=Samarskaya oblast, p=sɐˈmarskəjə ˈobləsʲtʲ) is a federal subject of Russia (an oblast). Its administrative center is the city of Samara. From 1935 to 1991, it was known as Kuybyshev Oblast ( rus, Ку́йбышевская о́бласть, r=Kuybyshevskaya Oblast, p=ˈkujbɨʂɨfskəjə ˈobləsʲtʲ). As of the 2010 Census, the population of the oblast was 3,215,532. The oblast borders Tatarstan in the north, Orenburg Oblast in the east, Kazakhstan (West Kazakhstan Province) in the south, Saratov Oblast in the southwest and Ulyanovsk Oblast in the west. History The Samara region contains a remarkable succession of archaeological cultures from 7000 BC to 4000 BC. These sites have revealed Europe's earliest pottery (Elshanka culture), the world's oldest horse burial and signs of horse worship (the Syezzheye cemetery of Samara culture) and the earliest kurgans associated with Proto-Indo-Europeans (e.g., ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Melekess
Dimitrovgrad (russian: Димитровград; ), formerly Melekess () until 1972, is a city in Ulyanovsk Oblast, Russia. It is the administrative center of Melekessky District, although it is not within the district and is an independent city. The city is located in the Volga Region, at the confluence of the Melekesska River and the Bolshoy Cheremshan River, a tributary of the Volga River. Dimitrovgrad has a population of the second-largest city in Ulyanovsk Oblast, after Ulyanovsk. History The city was founded in 1714 as a village for workers of the local distillery. By 1897 its population had grown to 8,500, and in 1919 it was granted town status. Until 1972, the city's name was Melekess (), after the local Melekesska River which runs through the town. On July 15, 1972, Melekess was renamed to Dimitrovgrad, celebrating the posthumous 90th birthday of Georgi Dimitrov, the first leader of the communist People's Republic of Bulgaria. Administrative and municipal ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Order Of Lenin
The Order of Lenin (russian: Орден Ленина, Orden Lenina, ), named after the leader of the Russian October Revolution, was established by the Central Executive Committee on April 6, 1930. The order was the highest civilian decoration bestowed by the Soviet Union. The order was awarded to: * Civilians for outstanding services rendered to the State * Members of the armed forces for exemplary service * Those who promoted friendship and cooperation between people and in strengthening peace * Those with meritorious services to the Soviet state and society From 1944 to 1957, before the institution of a specific length of service medals, the Order of Lenin was also used to reward 25 years of conspicuous military service. Those who were awarded the titles "Hero of the Soviet Union" and " Hero of Socialist Labour" were also given the order as part of the award. It was also bestowed on cities, companies, factories, regions, military units, and ships. Various educational instituti ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Elbe Day
Elbe Day, April 25, 1945, is the day Soviet and American troops met at the Elbe River, near Torgau in Germany, marking an important step toward the end of World War II in Europe. This contact between the Soviets, advancing from the east, and the Americans, advancing from the west, meant that the two powers had effectively cut Germany in two. Elbe Day has never been an official holiday in any country, but in the years after 1945 the memory of this friendly encounter gained new significance in the context of the Cold War between the U.S. and the Soviet Union. History The first contact between American and Soviet patrols occurred near Strehla, after First Lieutenant Albert Kotzebue, an American soldier, crossed the River Elbe in a boat with three men of an intelligence and reconnaissance platoon. On the east bank they met forward elements of a Soviet Guards rifle regiment of the First Ukrainian Front, under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Gordeyev. The same day, anoth ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Oder
The Oder ( , ; Czech, Lower Sorbian and ; ) is a river in Central Europe. It is Poland's second-longest river in total length and third-longest within its borders after the Vistula and Warta. The Oder rises in the Czech Republic and flows through western Poland, later forming of the border between Poland and Germany as part of the Oder–Neisse line. The river ultimately flows into the Szczecin Lagoon north of Szczecin and then into three branches (the Dziwna, Świna and Peene) that empty into the Bay of Pomerania of the Baltic Sea. Names The Oder is known by several names in different languages, but the modern ones are very similar: English and ; Czech, Polish, and , ; (); Medieval Latin: ''Od(d)era''; Renaissance Latin: ''Viadrus'' (invented in 1534). Ptolemy knew the modern Oder as the Συήβος (''Suebos''; Latin ''Suevus''), a name apparently derived from the Suebi, a Germanic people. While he also refers to an outlet in the area as the Οὐιαδούα ''Oui ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |