The 12th Rifle Division was an infantry division of the

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army (Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic and, after ...

, formed twice. The division's first formation fought in the

Russian Civil War , date = October Revolution, 7 November 1917 – Yakut revolt, 16 June 1923{{Efn, The main phase ended on 25 October 1922. Revolt against the Bolsheviks continued Basmachi movement, in Central Asia and Tungus Republic, the Far East th ...

and

Polish–Soviet War The Polish–Soviet War (Polish–Bolshevik War, Polish–Soviet War, Polish–Russian War 1919–1921) * russian: Советско-польская война (''Sovetsko-polskaya voyna'', Soviet-Polish War), Польский фронт (' ...

. It was disbanded in 1921. The division formed again in 1923 at

Omsk Omsk (; rus, Омск, p=omsk) is the administrative center and largest city of Omsk Oblast, Russia. It is situated in southwestern Siberia, and has a population of over 1.1 million. Omsk is the third largest city in Siberia after Novosibirsk ...

and spent

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 opposin ...

in Siberia. It participated in the

Soviet invasion of Manchuria The Soviet invasion of Manchuria, formally known as the Manchurian strategic offensive operation (russian: Манчжурская стратегическая наступательная операция, Manchzhurskaya Strategicheskaya Nastu ...

and was converted into a motor rifle division in 1957.

History

First formation

The division was formed on 22 October 1918 from the 1st Voronezh Infantry Division. It fought on the

Southern Front of the Russian Civil War The Southern Front of the Russian Civil War was a theatre of the Russian Civil War. Don revolts and formation of the Volunteer Army In the aftermath of the October Revolution, politicians and army officers hostile to the Bolsheviks gravitated ...

. In December 1919, it fought in the Donbass Operation as part of the

1st Cavalry Army __NOTOC__ The 1st Cavalry Army (russian: Первая конная армия, Pervaya konnaya armiya) was a prominent Red Army military formation. It was also known as "Budyonny's Cavalry Army" or simply as ''Konarmia'' (Кона́рмия, "Horse ...

. After fighting in the Kuban campaign in February and March 1920, the division was sent to the Western Front in April. Between May and August, it fought in the Polish–Soviet War, participating in the Battle of Warsaw. In November it transferred to Ukraine and fought against

Symon Petliura Symon Vasylyovych Petliura ( uk, Си́мон Васи́льович Петлю́ра; – May 25, 1926) was a Ukrainian politician and journalist. He became the Supreme Commander of the Ukrainian Army and the President of the Ukrainian People' ...

's army. The division was given the honorific "on behalf of the Petrograd Soviet" on 13 December 1920. On 31 March 1921, it became the border troops division of the

Cheka The All-Russian Extraordinary Commission ( rus, Всероссийская чрезвычайная комиссия, r=Vserossiyskaya chrezvychaynaya komissiya, p=fsʲɪrɐˈsʲijskəjə tɕrʲɪzvɨˈtɕæjnəjə kɐˈmʲisʲɪjə), abbreviated ...

of Ukraine and Crimea.

Second formation

It was formed 5 October 1923 in

(order the troops of the West Siberian MD No. 563). On 18 February 1924, it was given the name of the Siberian Revolutionary Committee. It was part of the Western Siberian Military District from its formation until 1924. From 1924 until 1934 it was part of the

Siberian Military District The Siberian Military District was a Military district of the Russian Ground Forces. The district was originally formed as a military district of the Russian Empire in 1864. In 1924 it was reformed in the Red Army. After the end of World War II the ...

. It then joined the

18th Rifle Corps 18 (eighteen) is the natural number following 17 and preceding 19. In mathematics * Eighteen is a composite number, its divisors being 1, 2, 3, 6 and 9. Three of these divisors (3, 6 and 9) add up to 18, hence 18 is a semiperfect number. ...

of the Special Far Eastern Army, with which it served from 1934 to 1938. In 1938 it was reassigned to the

2nd Red Banner Army The 2nd Red Banner Army () was a Soviet field army of World War II that served as part of the Far Eastern Front. The army was formed at Khabarovsk in the Soviet Far East in 1938 as the 2nd Army. After the Far Eastern Front was split in Septembe ...

. It took part in active fighting from 9 August 1945 to 5 September 1945. At the beginning of the

German invasion of the Soviet Union Operation Barbarossa (german: link=no, Unternehmen Barbarossa; ) was the invasion of the Soviet Union by Nazi Germany and many of its Axis allies, starting on Sunday, 22 June 1941, during the Second World War. The operation, code-named after ...

, it was stationed in the

Blagoveshchensk Blagoveshchensk ( rus, Благове́щенск, p=bləgɐˈvʲeɕːɪnsk, meaning ''City of the Annunciation'') is a city and the administrative center of Amur Oblast, Russia. It is located at the confluence of the Amur and the Zeya Rivers, opp ...

area, and did not participate in the fighting on the

Eastern Front of World War II The Eastern Front of World War II was a theatre of conflict between the European Axis powers against the Soviet Union (USSR), Poland and other Allies, which encompassed Central Europe, Eastern Europe, Northeast Europe (Baltics), and Sout ...

. On 9 August 1945 it participated in the

, crossing the

River Amur The Amur (russian: река́ Аму́р, ), or Heilong Jiang (, "Black Dragon River", ), is the world's List of longest rivers, tenth longest river, forming the border between the Russian Far East and Northeast China, Northeastern China (Inne ...

and

Ussuri The Ussuri or Wusuli (russian: Уссури; ) is a river that runs through Khabarovsk and Primorsky Krais, Russia and the southeast region of Northeast China. It rises in the Sikhote-Alin mountain range, flowing north and forming part of the Si ...

, and capturing several cities in China, defeating

Kwantung Army ''Kantō-gun'' , image = Kwantung Army Headquarters.JPG , image_size = 300px , caption = Kwantung Army headquarters in Hsinking, Manchukuo , dates = April ...

. Destroy large Maolantun sky site of resistance. On 14 September 1945, it was given the honorific 'Amur,' and thus its full name became '12th Rifle Division behalf of Amur Siberian Revolutionary Committee.' It became the

12th Motor Rifle Division The 12th Motor Rifle Division was a motorized infantry division of the Soviet Army, formed twice. It was formed in 1957 from the 12th Rifle Division and disbanded in 1958. The division was reformed in 1960 and moved to Baganuur in Mongolia in 197 ...

on 17 May 1957 at

Belogorsk, Amur Oblast Belogorsk (russian: Белого́рск) is a town in Amur Oblast, Russia, located on the river Tom, a tributary of the Zeya. Population: 53,000 (1969); 34,000 (1939). The town was included in a list of towns at risk of social problems, in ...

with the

Far Eastern Military District The Far Eastern Military District (russian: Дальневосточный военный округ; Dalʹnevostochnyĭ voennyĭ okrug) was a military district of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation. In 2010 it was merged with the Pacific ...

. It disbanded on 15 October 1958.

Units – 1945

* 57th Rifle

Regiment A regiment is a military unit. Its role and size varies markedly, depending on the country, service and/or a specialisation. In Medieval Europe, the term "regiment" denoted any large body of front-line soldiers, recruited or conscripted ...

* 192nd Rifle Regiment * 214th Amur Order of the Red Star Rifle Regiment * 7th Khingan

Artillery Artillery is a class of heavy military ranged weapons that launch munitions far beyond the range and power of infantry firearms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach defensive walls and fortifications during siege ...

Regiment * 238th

Howitzer A howitzer () is a long- ranged weapon, falling between a cannon (also known as an artillery gun in the United States), which fires shells at flat trajectories, and a mortar, which fires at high angles of ascent and descent. Howitzers, like ot ...

artillery Artillery is a class of heavy military ranged weapons that launch munitions far beyond the range and power of infantry firearms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach defensive walls and fortifications during siege ...

Regiment * 482nd Self-propelled Artillery Battalion * 96th separate Anti-tank Battalion * 29th Reconnaissance Battalion * 34th separate

Engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who invent, design, analyze, build and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while considering the l ...

Battalion A battalion is a military unit, typically consisting of 300 to 1,200 soldiers commanded by a lieutenant colonel, and subdivided into a number of companies (usually each commanded by a major or a captain). In some countries, battalions are ...

* 80th separate battalion * 616th medico-sanitary battalion * 3rd separate chemical protection company * 8th repair and replacement company * 301st Motor Transport Battalion * 54th (424th) trucking company * 57th (13th), field bread house * 158th Divisional

veterinarian A veterinarian (vet), also known as a veterinary surgeon or veterinary physician, is a medical professional who practices veterinary medicine. They manage a wide range of health conditions and injuries in non-human animals. Along with this, vet ...

s' hospital * 128th Field Postal Station * 2nd (268th) Field ticket office of the State Bank

Commanders

* Fyodor Kuzmich Kuzmin (1926–1930) * Andrey K. Smirnov (1930–1936) *

Grigory Stelmakh Grigory Stelmakh (1900 – 31 December 1942) was a Soviet military commander. He held a prominent role in the defeat of German blitzkrieg (Operation Barbarossa) and in the Soviet victory in the battle of Stalingrad. Before World War II Stelmakh wa ...

(1936–1938) *

Colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...

Alexander Maximov, c 7 October 1941

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 ...

– 26 March 1941 to 22 April 1942 *

Ivan Makarenko Ivan () is a Slavic male given name, connected with the variant of the Greek name (English: John) from Hebrew meaning 'God is gracious'. It is associated worldwide with Slavic countries. The earliest person known to bear the name was Bulgari ...

– c 22 April 1942 to 26 May 1942 *

Andrei Ilyich Kryuchkov – 26 May 1942 to 5 September 1945

References

Sources

External links

Directory

{{Soviet Union divisions

012 012 may refer to: * Tyrrell 012, a Formula One racing car * The dialing code for Pretoria Pretoria () is South Africa's administrative capital, serving as the seat of the executive branch of government, and as the host to all foreign embassie ...

Military units and formations established in 1923 Military units and formations disestablished in 1957 Infantry divisions of the Soviet Union