The 27th Rifle Division (russian: 27-я стрелковая дивизия) was a tactical unit in 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 ...

Soviet Russia The Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, Russian SFSR or RSFSR ( rus, Российская Советская Федеративная Социалистическая Республика, Rossíyskaya Sovétskaya Federatívnaya Soci ...

and then the

Soviet Union 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 national ...

, active between 1918 and 1945. First formed during 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 ...

on November 3, 1918, as part of 5th Red Army. Commanded by

Vitovt Putna Vitovt Kazimirovich Putna (russian: Ви́товт Казими́рович Пу́тна, lt, Vytautas Putna; 1893–1937) was a Soviet Red Army officer of Lithuanian origin. A World War I veteran of the Imperial Russian Army and Bolshevik s ...

, it was transferred to the 16th Red Army in 1920, and took part 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 (' ...

. Defeated in the battles of Radzymin and

Ossów Ossów is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Wołomin, within Wołomin County, Masovian Voivodeship, in east-central Poland. It lies approximately south of Wołomin and north-east of Warsaw. In August 1920, the Battle of Ossów ...

(collectively known as the Battle of Warsaw), it practically ceased to exist. Reformed in Russia, it returned to Poland in 1939 and took part in the

Soviet invasion of Poland The Soviet invasion of Poland was a military operation by the Soviet Union without a formal declaration of war. On 17 September 1939, the Soviet Union invaded Poland from the east, 16 days after Nazi Germany invaded Poland from the west. Subse ...

as part of the 3rd Army's 4th Rifle Corps, reaching Parafianów and the line of Serwecz River on September 18, 1939. It was then stationed in Soviet-occupied Poland with its headquarters in

Suchowola Suchowola (; lt, Suchovola, be, Сухаволя ''Suchavolja'') is a town in north-eastern Poland in Sokółka County, located on both banks of the Olszanka River. It is situated in the Podlaskie Voivodeship (since 1999), having previously be ...

and regiments stationed in

Augustów Augustów (; lt, Augustavas, formerly known in English as ''Augustovo'' or ''Augustowo'')" is a city in north-eastern Poland with 29,729 inhabitants as of December 2021. It lies on the Netta River and the Augustów Canal. It is situated in the ...

Grajewo Grajewo (, yi, גראיעווע, translit=Grayavah) is a town in north-eastern Poland with 21,499 inhabitants (2016). It is situated in the Podlaskie Voivodeship (since 1999); previously, it was in Łomża Voivodeship (1975–1998). It is the ...

and

. By 2 October 1939, the division had been subordinated to the 16th Rifle Corps of the 11th Army. On 22 June 1941, the division was again part of 4th Rifle Corps, 3rd Army (Soviet Union), itself part of the Western Special Military District which quickly became the Western Front, under the command of Major General Aleksandr Stepanov. During

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 ...

, the division was attacked by the German 256th and 162nd Infantry Divisions. Its regiments fought separately and retreated eastwards, towards

Sokółka Sokółka (; lt, Sokulka, Sakalinė, be, Саку́лка, yi, סאקאלקע, Sokolke) is a town in northeastern Poland, seat of the Sokółka County in Podlaskie Voivodeship. It is a busy rail junction located on the international Warsaw–B ...

. By June 24 the division lost 40% of its soldiers and the following day unsuccessfully tried to defend the Swisłocz river line. In accordance with orders, it defended the line until the end of the day when it was annihilated. Only small groups of soldiers from the division reached Soviet lines in July and early August. The division was officially disbanded on September 19, 1941. The second formation of the division was recreated August 1941 at Arkhangelsk, (renamed from Rebolsky Direction Division on September 24, 1941) and the division subsequently fought against the

Finnish Army The Finnish Army (Finnish: ''Maavoimat'', Swedish: ''Armén'') is the land forces branch of the Finnish Defence Forces. The Finnish Army is divided into six branches: the infantry (which includes armoured units), field artillery, anti-aircraft ...

. The division was subordinated to the 26th Army of the

Karelian Front The Karelian Front russian: Карельский фронт) was a front (a formation of Army Group size) of the Soviet Union's Red Army during World War II, and operated in Karelia. Wartime The Karelian Front was created in August 1941 when ...

in May 1942, and was deployed in the far north of Russia until the end of 1944. 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 ...

on 5 April for its actions in the capture of Stolp. The unit completed the war with the 19th Army of the 2nd Belorussian Front in May 1945. Postwar, the division was stationed in Poland near Gdynia with the

Northern Group of Forces The Northern Group of Forces (; ) was the military formation of the Soviet Army stationed in People's Republic of Poland, Poland from the end of World War II, Second World War in 1945 until 1993 when they were withdrawn in the aftermath of the fal ...

and disbanded in the summer of 1945.

References

Citations

Bibliography

* * Vladimir Beshanov, ''Czerwony Blitzkrieg'', . * * Various authors, S.S. Khromov (ed.), "Гражданская война и военная интервенция в СССР" in: ''Советская Энциклопедия''. Moscow, 1983. p. 704 * Grzegorz Łukomski, Bogusław Polak, Mieczysław Wrzosek, ''Wojna polsko-bolszewicka 1919-1920''. Koszalin, 1990 * {{Soviet Union divisions before 1945 027 027 Military units and formations established in 1918 Military units and formations disestablished in 1945 Military units and formations of the Soviet invasion of Poland