The 25th Rifle Division (russian: 25-я стрелковая дивизия) was a rifle division of the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

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, afte ...

during the

Second World War 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 opposi ...

, formed twice. Formed in 1918, it was a Russian, and later

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nation ...

formation formed on the Eastern Front during the

Russian Civil War {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Russian Civil War , partof = the Russian Revolution and the aftermath of World War I , image = , caption = Clockwise from top left: {{flatlist, *Soldiers ...

. It was named after its first commander,

Vasily Chapayev Vasily Ivanovich Chapayev or Chapaev (russian: link=no, Василий Иванович Чапаев; 5 September 1919) was a Russian soldier and Red Army commander during the Russian Civil War. Biography Chapayev was born into a poor peasan ...

. As Chapayev's command it gained fame during the war and as a result received his name, designated the 25th Chapayev Rifle Division (). The division was transferred west to fight in the

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 (' ...

and was stationed in Ukraine during the interwar period. Moved forward to participate in the

Soviet occupation of Bessarabia The Soviet invasion and occupation of Bessarabia and Northern Bukovina took place from June 28 to July 3, 1940, as a result of an ultimatum by the Soviet Union to Kingdom of Romania, Romania on June 26, 1940, that threatened the use of force. Be ...

in 1940, the division retreated east after Germany invaded the Soviet Union in

Operation Barbarossa 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 disbanded after being destroyed in the siege of Sevastopol in mid-1942. The 25th was formed for a second time, without inheriting the honors of the original unit, in 1943. This unit served in the

Arkhangelsk Military District The Arkhangelsk Military District () was a regional military district of the Red Army which oversaw the North-Western part of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic. The district was formed in 1940 during a reorganisation of the Army, ...

without seeing combat in the rest of the war, and was disbanded shortly after the end of the war.

Russian Civil War

The division was formed in 1918 at the beginning of the

under the command of Vasily Chapayev. Chapayev previously served in the Imperial Russian Army during World War I. The division deployed to the Urals where it fought the

Ural Cossacks The Ural Cossack Host was a cossack host formed from the Ural Cossacks – those Eurasian cossacks settled by the Ural River. Their alternative name, Yaik Cossacks, comes from the old name of the river. They were also known by the names: *Rus ...

in the Zavolzhye region. On October 7, 1918, the division fought at Samara, on March 11, 1919, it fought at

Uralsk Uralsk (russian: Уральск) is the name of several rural localities in Russia: *Uralsk, Republic of Bashkortostan, a '' selo'' in Uralsky Selsoviet of Uchalinsky District of the Republic of Bashkortostan * Uralsk, Orenburg Oblast, a ''selo'' ...

, and on January 2, 1920, the division occupied entered Atyrau (then Guriev) for the

Bolshevik The Bolsheviks (russian: Большевики́, from большинство́ ''bol'shinstvó'', 'majority'),; derived from ''bol'shinstvó'' (большинство́), "majority", literally meaning "one of the majority". also known in English ...

s. In May 1920, the division transferred to the Ukrainian front. It aided the successful defence of Kiev against the

Poles Poles,, ; singular masculine: ''Polak'', singular feminine: ''Polka'' or Polish people, are a West Slavic nation and ethnic group, who share a common history, culture, the Polish language and are identified with the country of Poland in C ...

, before moving on to capture Kovel and participate in further operations along the Southern Bug. From April 1921 to the December 1922 the division was responsible for suppressing Ukrainian independence forces.

Interwar period

On 30 November 1921 the division was renamed the 25th Poltava Rifle Division before becoming the 25th Kremenchug Rifle Division on 4 January 1922. In 1922 the division became part of the

Ukrainian Military District The Kiev Military District (; , abbreviated ) was a military district of the Imperial Russian Army and subsequently of the Red Army and Soviet Armed Forces. It was first formed in 1862, and was headquartered in Kiev (Kyiv) for most of its exist ...

, which became the Kiev Military District in 1935. Its former designation, the 25th Chapayev Red Banner Rifle Division, was restored on 11 July 1925. The division was awarded the

Honorary Revolutionary Red Banner An honorary position is one given as an honor, with no duties attached, and without payment. Other uses include: * Honorary Academy Award, by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, United States * Honorary Aryan, a status in Nazi Germany ...

in 1928 and the

Order of Lenin The Order of Lenin (russian: Орден Ленина, Orden Lenina, ), named after the leader of the Russian October Revolution, was established by the Central Executive Committee on April 6, 1930. The order was the highest civilian decoration ...

in 1933. The division transferred to the

Odessa Military District The Odesa Military District (russian: Одесский военный округ, ОВО; , abbreviated ) was a military administrative division of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. In 1998 most of its territory was transformed into the Southern Operat ...

in May 1940 in preparation for the

in June and July of that year. After participating in the occupation, the 25th became part of the 9th Army.

World War II

On June 24, 1941, Stavka Order #20466 attached the 25th Rifle Division to the

14th Rifle Corps 14 (fourteen) is a natural number following 13 and preceding 15. In relation to the word "four" ( 4), 14 is spelled "fourteen". In mathematics * 14 is a composite number. * 14 is a square pyramidal number. * 14 is a stella octangula number ...

, 9th Army, Southern Front. It took part in the Battle of Odessa, and was evacuated by sea in October 1941 prior to the city's fall. The division arrived in

Sevastopol Sevastopol (; uk, Севасто́поль, Sevastópolʹ, ; gkm, Σεβαστούπολις, Sevastoúpolis, ; crh, Акъя́р, Aqyár, ), sometimes written Sebastopol, is the largest city in Crimea, and a major port on the Black Sea ...

in time to prepare for the defence of the port against the oncoming German offensive. The division was destroyed during the following siege of Sevastopol in July 1942. After the end of World War II, the name 'Chapeyevskaya' was given to the

25th Guards Rifle Division The 25th Guards Rifle Division 'Chapayevskaya' was a division of the Soviet Red Army. The division was reorganised and reformed several times until the collapse of the Soviet Union, when it entered service in the Ukrainian Army as the 25th Mechanis ...

. The division was subsequently reformed in the

in 1943. It did not see any further action in the Second World War. While Poirer and Connor list further fighting it took part in, it is believed that this information was incorrect. It was attached to the

4th Rifle Corps The 4th Rifle Corps was a corps of the Red Army, active from the 1920s. First Formation It was formed during the Russian Civil War as part of the Western Front of the Red Army in May and June 1922. The corps headquarters was stationed in Vitebsk ...

of the

Belomorsky Military District The Belomorsky Military District (russian: Беломорский военный округ) was a military district of the Soviet Armed Forces, active from in the immediate aftermath of the Russian Civil War and just after the Second World War. ...

in May 1945.

Postwar

The division (

Military Unit Number A Military Unit Number (Russian: Войсковая часть) is a numeric alternate designation for military units in the armed forces and internal troops of post-Soviet states, originally used by those of the Soviet Union The Soviet ...

15887) was disbanded on 10 July 1946 along with the corps.Feskov et al 2013, p. 429

References

Citations

Bibliography

* * {{Soviet Union divisions before 1945 025 Military units and formations established in 1918 Military units and formations disestablished in 1957 Military units and formations of the Soviet Union in the Winter War 1918 establishments in Russia 1957 disestablishments in the Soviet Union