The 11th Guards Airborne Division was the name of two separate airborne divisions of the

Soviet Airborne Troops The Soviet Airborne Forces or VDV (from ''Vozdushno- desantnye voyska SSSR'', Russian: Воздушно-десантные войска СССР, ВДВ; Air-landing Forces) was a separate troops branch of the Soviet Armed Forces. First formed be ...

. The division was first formed in late 1943 from three airborne brigades and did not see action before its conversion to the 104th Guards Rifle Division nearly a year later. The division was formed a second time in 1948 from a regiment at

Ryazan Ryazan ( rus, Рязань, p=rʲɪˈzanʲ, a=ru-Ryazan.ogg) is the largest city and administrative center of Ryazan Oblast, Russia. The city is located on the banks of the Oka River in Central Russia, southeast of Moscow. As of the 2010 Census ...

and was disbanded in 1955.

History

First Formation

The 11th Guards Airborne Division was formed on 23 December 1943 from the 1st, 2nd, and 11th Guards Airborne Brigades, part of the

Reserve of the Supreme High Command The Reserve of the Supreme High Command (Russian: Резерв Верховного Главнокомандования; also known as the '' Stavka'' Reserve or RVGK ( ru , РВГК)) comprises reserve military formations and units; the Sta ...

. The division included the 1st, 2nd, and 11th Guards Airborne Brigades. It was commanded by

Major General Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...

Vasily Polikarpovich Ivanov. The division became part of the 38th Guards Airborne Corps when it was formed. On 8 December 1944, the State Defense Committee decided to reorganize the division as the 104th Guards Rifle Division. The reorganization took place at

Slutsk Slutsk ( officially transliterated as Sluck, be, Слуцк; russian: Слуцк; pl, Słuck, lt, Sluckas, Yiddish/Hebrew: סלוצק ''Slutsk'') is a city in Belarus, located on the Sluch River south of Minsk. As of 2022, its population i ...

Second Formation

The 347th Guards Air Landing Regiment had been converted from the 347th Guards Rifle Regiment in June 1946, and from 1946 to 1948 was based in Tula. It formed part of the 106th Guards Airborne Division. On 15 October 1948, the 11th Guards Airborne Division was formed from the 347th Guards Air Landing Regiment. The new division was based at

and inherited the

Order of the Red Banner The Order of the Red Banner (russian: Орден Красного Знамени, Orden Krasnogo Znameni) was the first Soviet military decoration. The Order was established on 16 September 1918, during the Russian Civil War by decree of th ...

from the regiment. It was part of the 38th Guards Airborne Corps. In 1948 the key divisional units included the 111th Guards Airborne Regiment; the 137th Guards Air Landing Regiment; the 1185th Guards Artillery Regiment (all at

, Moscow Oblast) and independent

Self-Propelled Artillery Self-propelled artillery (also called locomotive artillery) is artillery equipped with its own propulsion system to move toward its firing position. Within the terminology are the self-propelled gun, self-propelled howitzer, self-propelled mo ...

, independent Guards Anti-Aircraft Artillery, independent Guards Anti-Tank Artillery; and independent Guards Engineering Battalions; and independent Guards Reconnaissance, independent Communications, and an independent Air-Landing Security Company.

Combat service support The term combat service support (or CSS) is utilized by numerous military organizations throughout the world to describe entities that provide direct and indirect sustainment services to the groups that engage (or are potentially to be engaged) ...

units included an independent Supply Truck Battalion, and independent Medical & Sanitary Company. The 137th Guards Air Landing Regiment was later converted to the 137th Guards Airborne Regiment at some point, possibly as late as April 1955. On 25 April 1955, the division was disbanded, with the 111th Guards Airborne Regiment transferred to the 105th Guards Vienna Airborne Division and the newly converted 137th Guards Airborne Regiment transferred to the 106th Guards Airborne Division.

Composition

In 1948, the division was composed of the following units. * 111th Guards Airborne Regiment * 137th Guards Air Landing Regiment * 1185th Guards Artillery Regiment

References

Notes

Citations

Bibliography

* * * * {{Soviet Union divisions 1945{{endash57, state=collapsed Airborne divisions of the Soviet Union Military units and formations established in 1943 Military units and formations disestablished in 1955