The 13th Guards Airborne Division was a division 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 ...

. Its first formation was formed in December 1943 from airborne brigades and was quickly redesignated the 98th Guards Rifle Division without seeing combat in

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 ...

. The division was reformed in 1944 as part of the 37th Guards Airborne Corps, and was reorganized as the 103rd Guards Rifle Division within a year, again without seeing combat. The division was reformed for the third and last time in 1948. The division served in

Amur Oblast Amur Oblast ( rus, Аму́рская о́бласть, r=Amurskaya oblast, p=ɐˈmurskəjə ˈobləsʲtʲ) is a federal subject of Russia (an oblast), located on the banks of the Amur and Zeya Rivers in the Russian Far East. The administrative ...

in the Soviet Far East until its disbandment in 1955.

History

First formation

The 13th Guards Airborne Division was first formed on 20 December 1943 from the 18th, 19th and 20th 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 18, 19th, and 20th Guards Airborne Brigades, and was commanded by Colonel Konstantin Nikolaevich Vindushev. The division was redesignated as the 98th Guards Rifle Division on 19 January 1944, and became part of the

37th Guards Rifle Corps The 37th Guards Airborne Corps was a Red Army airborne corps. The corps was established as the 37th Guards Rifle Corps on 19 January 1944. In August, it was converted into an airborne corps. On 18 December, it became an infantry corps again. The cor ...

Second formation

The division was reformed between February and March 1944 in the

Moscow Military District The Order of Lenin Moscow Military District was a military district of the Soviet Armed Forces and the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation. The district was awarded the Order of Lenin in 1968. In 2010 it was merged with the Leningrad Military Di ...

from the 3rd, 8th, and 21st Guards Airborne Brigades. In October, the division became part of the Separate Airborne Army's 37th Guards Airborne Corps at

Teykovo Teykovo (russian: Те́йково) is a town in Ivanovo Oblast, Russia, located on the Vyazma River southwest of Ivanovo. Population: 42,800 (1975). History It was founded in the 17th century and was granted town status in 1918. Administrat ...

, with the 3rd, 6th, and 8th Guards Airborne Brigades. The 13th Division was redesignated as the 103rd Guards Rifle Division on 18 December 1944. The division became the 103rd Guards Airborne Division on 7 June 1946 in Seltsy, Ryazan Oblast.

Third formation

The division was reformed on 15 October 1948 at Galyonki from the 296th Guards Airlanding Regiment of the 106th Guards Airborne Division, under the 37th Guards Airborne Corps. The division inherited the 296th's

Order of Kutuzov The Order of Kutuzov (russian: орден Кутузова ''orden Kutuzova'') is a military decoration of the Russian Federation named after famous Russian Field Marshal Mikhail Illarionovich Kutuzov (1745–1813). The Order was established du ...

. The Independent Landing Security Company was disbanded in 1949. The 116th Guards Airlanding Regiment was converted to an airborne unit at some point. On 1 June 1951, the division and its corps were relocated to Kuybyshevka-Vostochnaya. On 15 November 1953, the Separate Communications Company became the Separate Guards Communications Battalion. The Separate Medical & Sanitary Company became the Separate Medical & Sanitary Battalion on the same day. The Separate Guards Antitank Artillery Battalion and the Separate Guards Reconnaissance Company were disbanded on the same day. The division was disbanded on 25 April 1955. Its 116th Guards Airborne Regiment was transferred to the 99th Guards Airborne Division and the 217th Guards Airborne Regiment was transferred to the

98th Guards Airborne Division The 98th Guards Airborne Division is an airborne division of the Russian Airborne Troops, currently based in Ivanovo. Russian 98th Airborne Division patch.svg, 98th Guards Airborne Division shoulder sleeve insignia (1993) History During the Se ...

.Michael Holm
13th Guards Airborne Division
accessed 25 November 2015.

Composition

The division was composed of the following units in 1948. * 116th Guards Airlanding Regiment * 217th Guards Airborne Regiment * 1183rd Guards Artillery Regiment * Separate Self-Propelled Artillery Battalion * 100th Separate Guards Antiaircraft Artillery Battalion * Separate Guards Antitank Artillery Battalion * Separate Guards Reconnaissance Company * Separate Communications Company * Separate Guards Engineering Battalion * Separate Supply Truck Battalion * Separate Medical and Sanitary Company * Separate Training Battalion

Bibliography

Citations

References

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