The 180th Rifle Division was an infantry division of the Soviet

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. Poirer and Connor write that it was first formed 1940 in the Baltic Special Military District and became the 28th Guards Rifle Division on 3 May 1942. The division briefly became the 14th Rifle Division in 1955, then 88th Motor Rifle Division 1957, but became 180th Kiev Red Banner Orders of Suvorov and Kutuzov Motor Rifle Division in 1965 and remained under that title until the 1990s. After 1992 became Ukrainian 27th Mechanized Brigade. The 27th Mechanized Brigade was disbanded, most likely in the early 2000s.

First formation

The 180th Rifle Division was first formed during August and September 1940 in the Baltic Special Military District. It was part of the 22nd Territorial Rifle Corps (Estonian) and was composed of Estonian People's Force personnel. It was commanded by Major General

Richard Tomberg Richard Tomberg (6 September 1897 Mõisamaa, Salla Parish – 25 May 1982 Tallinn) was an Estonian military Major General. He was the only Estonian higher military personnel, who survived Soviet times in 1940s. In 1915 he entered voluntarily int ...

, the former commander of the

Estonian Air Force The Estonian Air Force ( et, Õhuvägi, ) is the aviation branch of the Estonian Defence Forces. The air force traces its history to 1918, and was re-established in its current form in 1991. As of 2016, the Estonian Air Force has a strength of ...

. On 3 June 1941, Major General Ivan Missan replaced Tomberg in command. On 22 June 1941, it was based in

Võru Võru (; vro, Võro; german: Werro) is a town and a municipality in south-eastern Estonia. It is the capital of Võru County and the centre of Võru Parish. History Võru was founded on 21 August 1784, according to the wish of the Empress Cather ...

, which was in the rear area. While moving forward, it was attacked by German aircraft. The division entered combat on 26 June against the

LVI Panzer Corps LVI Panzer Corps was a panzer corps in the German Army during World War II. This corps was activated in February 1941 as the LVI Army Corps (mot.), for the German invasion of the Soviet Union, which commenced on 22 June 1941. Erich von Manstein ...

, which was attacking the 27th Army in the

Daugava , be, Заходняя Дзвіна (), liv, Vēna, et, Väina, german: Düna , image = Fluss-lv-Düna.png , image_caption = The drainage basin of the Daugava , source1_location = Valdai Hills, Russia , mouth_location = Gulf of Riga, Baltic Se ...

region. On 9 July, the division and its parent formation, the 22nd Rifle Corps, were transferred from the 27th Army to the 11th Army. It fought in defensive battles, making counterattacks in

Soltsy Soltsy (russian: Сольцы́) is a town and the administrative center of Soletsky District in Novgorod Oblast, Russia, located on the left bank of the Shelon River, southwest of Veliky Novgorod, the administrative center of the oblast. Populat ...

Porkhov Porkhov (russian: По́рхов) is a town and the administrative center of Porkhovsky District in Pskov Oblast, Russia, located on the Shelon River, east of Pskov, the administrative center of the oblast. Population: History The fortres ...

and

Novorzhev Novorzhev (russian: Новорже́в) is a town and the administrative center of Novorzhevsky District in Pskov Oblast, Russia, located on the Sorot River southeast of Pskov, the administrative center of the oblast. Population: History It w ...

. In August it had retreated back to the

Staraya Russa Staraya Russa ( rus, Старая Русса, p=ˈstarəjə ˈrusːə) is a town in Novgorod Oblast, Russia, located on the Polist River, south of Veliky Novgorod, the administrative center of the oblast. Its population has steadily decreased ov ...

area. In September 1941, the division fought in the Demyansk Defensive Operation. It then fought in the

Demyansk Pocket The Demyansk Pocket (german: Kessel von Demjansk; russian: Демя́нский котёл) was the name given to the pocket of German troops encircled by the Red Army around Demyansk, south of Leningrad, during World War II's Eastern Front. Th ...

in early 1942. On 3 May 1942, the division became the 28th Guards Rifle Division for its actions.

Second formation

The second formation of the division was created at

Cherepovets Cherepovets ( rus, Череповец, p=tɕɪrʲɪpɐˈvʲɛts) is a city in Vologda Oblast, Russia, located in the west of the oblast on the banks of the Sheksna River (a tributary of the Volga River) and on the shores of the Rybinsk Reservoir. ...

in June 1942 from the 41st Rifle Brigade. It fought at

Kiev Kyiv, also spelled Kiev, is the capital and most populous city of Ukraine. It is in north-central Ukraine along the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2021, its population was 2,962,180, making Kyiv the List of European cities by populat ...

Târgu Frumos Târgu Frumos (also spelled ''Tîrgu Frumos'', sometimes ''Târgul / Tîrgul Frumos''), ) is a town in Iași County, Western Moldavia, Romania. Eleven villages were administered by the town until 2004, when they were split off to form Balș, Coste ...

, and

Budapest Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population ...

. The division was part of the 53rd Army of the

2nd Ukrainian Front The 2nd Ukrainian Front (2-й Украинский фронт), was a front of the Red Army during the Second World War. History On October 20, 1943 the Steppe Front was renamed the 2nd Ukrainian Front. During the Second Jassy–Kishinev O ...

in May 1945. During the war, the division was awarded the honorific Kiev for its actions during the 1943 capture of Kiev. It was awarded 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 ...

, the

Order of Suvorov The Order of Suvorov () is a military decoration of the Russian Federation named in honor of Russian Generalissimo Prince Alexander Suvorov (1729–1800). History The Order of Suvorov was originally a Soviet award established on July 29, 1942 ...

2nd class and the

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 ...

2nd class.

Postwar

In 1955, it became the 14th Rifle Division. On 17 May 1957, the 88th Motor Rifle Division was activated from the 14th Rifle Division in

Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi ( uk, Бі́лгород-Дністро́вський, Bílhorod-Dnistróvskyy, ; ro, Cetatea Albă), historically known as Akkerman ( tr, Akkerman) or under different names, is a city, municipality and port situated on ...

, part of the 14th Guards Army. On 19 February 1962, the 276th Separate Equipment Maintenance and Recovery Battalion was activated along with the 244th Separate Missile Battalion. On 17 November 1964, the 88th Motor Rifle Division became the 180th Motor Rifle Division, restoring its World War II numbering. In 1967, the 14th Army became the 14th Guards Army. On 15 November 1972, the 1303rd Separate Anti-Tank Artillery Battalion was activated along with a separate Reactive Artillery Battalion. In 1980, the Separate Motor Transport Battalion became the 1041st Separate Material Supply Battalion. During the same year, the 136th Artillery Regiment absorbed the reactive artillery battalion. During the Cold War, the division was maintained at 16% strength. On 1 December 1989, the division was ordered to become the 5775th Weapons and Equipment Storage Base, but this was appears to have been delayed to at least 1991. In 1990, CFE treaty data showed the division had 61

T-64 The T-64 is a Soviet tank manufactured in Kharkiv, and designed by Kharkiv Morozov Machine Building Design Bureau. The tank was introduced in the early 1960s. It was a more advanced counterpart to the T-62: the T-64 served in tank divisions, while ...

tanks, 13

T-54 The T-54 and T-55 tanks are a series of Soviet main battle tanks introduced in the years following the Second World War. The first T-54 prototype was completed at Nizhny Tagil by the end of 1945.Steven Zaloga, T-54 and T-55 Main Battle Tanks ...

tanks and 12

BM-21 Grad The BM-21 "Grad" (russian: БМ-21 "Град", lit= hail) is a self-propelled 122 mm multiple rocket launcher designed in the Soviet Union. The system and the M-21OF rocket were first developed in the early 1960s, and saw their first comba ...

multiple rocket launchers, among other equipment. In January 1992, the storage base was taken over by Ukraine. It became the 27th Separate Mechanized Brigade and was subordinated to the 1st Airmobile Division. The brigade was disbanded in 2004.

Composition

The 180th Rifle Division's first formation included the following units. :21st Rifle Regiment :42nd Rifle Regiment :86th Rifle Regiment :627th Artillery Regiment :629th Howitzer Artillery Regiment (to 4 October 1941) :15th Separate Anti-Tank Battalion :150th Separate Anti-Aircraft Artillery Battalion (later 321st Separate Anti-Aircraft Battery) :90th Reconnaissance Company (later 90th Reconnaissance Battalion) :33rd Sapper Battalion :137th Separate Communications Battalion :9th Medical Battalion :182nd Separate Chemical Defence Company :383rd Road Transport Battalion (later 383rd Trucking Company) :440th Field Bakery :446th Divisional Veterinary Hospital :787th Field Post Office :467th Field Ticket Office of the State Bank The 180th Motor Rifle Division's second formation was composed of the following units. :21st Rifle Regiment :42nd Rifle Regiment :86th Rifle Regiment :627th Artillery Regiment :15th Separate Anti-Tank Battalion :250th Machine-Gun Battalion (to 10 June 1943) :90th Intelligence Company :33rd Sapper Battalion :866 Separate Communications Battalion (formerly 157th Separate Communications Battalion, 179th Separate Communications Company) :9th Medical Battalion :182nd Separate Chemical Defence Company :28th Road Transport Company :140th Field Baker :46th Divisional Veterinary Hospital :1595th Field Post Office :1643rd Field Ticket Office of the State Bank The 180th Motor Rifle Division was composed of the following units in 1988. :42nd Motor Rifle Regiment :325th Motor Rifle Regiment :326th Motor Rifle Regiment :166th Tank Regiment :136th Artillery Regiment :134th Anti-Aircraft Missile Regiment :244th Separate Missile Battalion :1303rd Separate Anti-Tank Artillery Battalion :104th Separate Reconnaissance Battalion :33rd Separate Engineer-Sapper Battalion :866th Separate Communications Battalion :Separate Chemical Defence Company :276th Separate Equipment Maintenance and Recovery Battalion :Separate Medical Battalion :1041st Separate Material Supply Battalion

References

*Feskov, V.I.; Golikov, V.I.; Kalashnikov, K.A.; Slugin, S.A. (2013). Вооруженные силы СССР после Второй Мировой войны: от Красной Армии к Советской he Armed Forces of the USSR after World War II: From the Red Army to the Soviet: Part 1 Land Forces(in Russian). Tomsk: Scientific and Technical Literature Publishing. . {{Soviet Union divisions 1957–1989 Infantry divisions of the Soviet Union in World War II Military units and formations established in 1940 Military units and formations disestablished in 1955