The 18th Mountain Cavalry Division was formed in 1936 by renaming the 7th ''Tadzhik'' Mountain Cavalry Division in the
Central Asia Military District
The Red Banner Central Asian Military District was a Military district (Soviet Union), military district of the Soviet Armed Forces, which existed in 1926–1945 and 1969–1989, with its headquarters at Tashkent (1926–1945) and Almaty (1969 ...
.
Wartime Service
1941
At the beginning of war the division was one of the three Mountain Cavalry Divisions assigned to the
4th Cavalry Corps in Central Asia. The division remained there until November when it was shipped forward to 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 was briefly in the reserves before being sent to the
Kalinin Front The Kalinin Front was a major formation of the Red Army active in the Eastern Front of World War II, named for the city of Kalinin. It was formally established by Stavka directive on 17 October 1941 and allocated three armies: 22nd, 29th Army a ...
's
30th Army. Along with the other two cavalry divisions in the army they formed the
11th Cavalry Corps in January 1942.
Despite being at 1/3 its prewar strength the division jumped off against the German flank north of Moscow. From February until July 1942 the 11th Cavalry Corps along with the
39th Army defended a nearly encircled salient in the vicinity of
Bely and
Vyazma
Vyazma (russian: Вя́зьма) is a town and the administrative center of Vyazemsky District in Smolensk Oblast, Russia, located on the Vyazma River, about halfway between Smolensk, the administrative center of the oblast, and Mozhaysk. Throu ...
-
Smolensk
Smolensk ( rus, Смоленск, p=smɐˈlʲensk, a=smolensk_ru.ogg) is a city and the administrative center of Smolensk Oblast, Russia, located on the Dnieper River, west-southwest of Moscow. First mentioned in 863, it is one of the oldest c ...
. The Germans launched
Operation Seydlitz
The Battles of Rzhev (russian: Ржевская битва, Rzhevskaya bitva) were a series of Red Army offensives against the Wehrmacht between January 8, 1942, and March 31, 1943, on the Eastern Front of World War II. The battles took place ...
on 2 July 1942 and eliminated the salient by the end of the month. The division was officially disbanded on 22 July 1942.
Subordinate Units
*36th Mountain Cavalry Regiment
*46th Mountain Cavalry Regiment
*97th Mountain Cavalry Regiment
*33rd Tank Regiment
See also
*
Cavalry Divisions of the Soviet Union 1917-1945
References
{{Soviet Union divisions before 1945
018
Military units and formations established in 1936
Military units and formations disestablished in 1942
018