The 49th Guards Rifle Division was an infantry division of 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 ...

. The division was formed in October 1942 from the

2nd Guards Motor Rifle Division The 2nd Guards M. I. Kalinin Taman Motor Rifle Division (russian: 2-я гвардейская мотострелковая Таманская ордена Октябрьской Революции Краснознаменная ордена Су ...

Formation

The 49th Guards Rifle Division was formed in the Western Front reserves near Moscow on 13 October 1942 from the remains of the 2nd Guards Motor Rifle Division. The unit was immediately assigned to the newly formed

13th Guards Rifle Corps In music or music theory, a thirteenth is the note thirteen scale degrees from the root of a chord and also the interval between the root and the thirteenth. The interval can be also described as a compound sixth, spanning an octave ...

in the

2nd Guards Army The 2nd Guards Army was a field army of the Soviet Union's Red Army that fought in World War II, most notably at Stalingrad. History The 2nd Guards Army was formed according to the order of the Staff of the Supreme High Command (Stavka) from Oc ...

. They were sent south to the Stalingrad area in December 1942 and went into action south of Stalingrad. When formed, its order of battle was as follows: * 144th Guards Rifle Regiment * 147th Guards Rifle Regiment * 149th Guards Rifle Regiment * 100th Guards Artillery Regiment * 56th Guards Separate Anti-tank Battalion * 64th Guards Anti-Aircraft Battery (up to 25 April 1943) * 1st Guards Machine Gun Battalion (up to 1 June 1943) * 51st Guards Reconnaissance Company * 57th Guards Separate Sapper Battalion * 77th Guards Separate Signals Battalion * 561st (53rd) Medical and Sanitation Battalion * 52nd Guards Separate Chemical Defense Company * 609th (53rd) Auto-Transport Company * 638th (48th) Field Bakery * 641st (50th) Divisional Veterinary Hospital * 572nd Field Postal Station * 44th Field Office of State Bank Troops of the 49th Guards Rifle Division marching, Moldova, late August 1944

Troops of the 49th Guards Rifle Division marching, Moldova, late August 1944

Later the division helped liberate

Kherson Kherson (, ) is a port city of Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers appr ...

(the name "Khersonskaya" was conferred on the division). It took part in the liberation of

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...

and

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia a ...

. The division ended the war in

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

. By this time the division had the following honorifics: Khersonskaya,

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 ...

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.

Postwar

After the end of the war the division became a part of the

Southern Group of Forces Southern may refer to: Businesses * China Southern Airlines, airline based in Guangzhou, China * Southern Airways, defunct US airline * Southern Air, air cargo transportation company based in Norwalk, Connecticut, US * Southern Airways Express, ...

, being reorganised as the 33rd Guards Mechanised Division.Feskov et al 2013, p. 71 In September 1949 the 33rd Guards Mechanized Division arrived in

Timișoara ), City of Roses ( ro, Orașul florilor), City of Parks ( ro, Orașul parcurilor) , image_map = Timisoara jud Timis.svg , map_caption = Location in Timiș County , pushpin_map = Romania#Europe , pushpin_ ...

from 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 ...

, becoming part of the

Special Mechanized Army The Special Mechanized Army () was a mechanized army of the Soviet Army. It was formed from the Southern Group of Forces in 1947 in Romania. Elements of the army fought in Operation Whirlwind, the suppression of the Hungarian Revolution of 1956. I ...

. The 33rd Guards Mechanized Division was detached to the Special Corps and fought in Operation Whirlwind, the suppression of the Hungarian Revolution of 1956. After the end of the operation, the division became part of the newly reformed

. On 4 June 1957, the division became the 33rd Guards Motor Rifle Division. The division was based at

Győr Győr ( , ; german: Raab, links=no; names of European cities in different languages: E-H#G, names in other languages) is the main city of northwest Hungary, the capital of Győr-Moson-Sopron County and Western Transdanubia, Western Transdanubia ...

with the 38th Army. In 1958 it moved to Kishinev and became part of the 14th Army. The division was disbanded there on 8 October 1960.

Commanders

69th Rifle Division

* Colonel Athanasius Dmitrievich Shemenkov (June 1938 - December 1940)

107th Tank Division

* Colonel Piotr Nikolaevich Domrachev (18 July 1941 - 30 August 1941) * Colonel

Porfiry Chanchibadze Porfiry Grigorevich Chanchibadze ( ka, პორფილე ჩანჩიბაძე, russian: Порфи́рий Гео́ргиевич Чанчиба́дзе); 13 December 1901 - 14 March 1950) was a Soviet Colonel General and a Hero of the S ...

(31 August 1941 - 15 September 1941)

107th Motorized Rifle Division

* Colonel

(16 September 1941 - 12 January 1942)

2nd Guards Motorized Rifle Division

* Colonel

(12 January 1942 - 24 October 1942)

49th Guards Rifle Division

Major General Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...

(25 October – 14 November 1942) *

Colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...

Denis Podshivailov - (15 November 1942 – 11 April 1943; promoted to major general 27 November 1942) * Colonel Georgy Kolesnikov - (12 April – 14 November 1943) *

Lieutenant Colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colone ...

Lev Puzanov (1 December 1943 – 10 January 1944) * Colonel

Vasily Margelov Vasily Filippovich Margelov (Russian language, Russian: Василий Филиппович Маргелов; be, Васі́ль Пілі́павіч Марге́лаў; – 4 March 1990) was a Red Army General of the army (USSR), General who wa ...

(11 January – 15 May 1944) * Colonel Stepan Salychev (16 May – 21 June 1944) * Colonel Vasily Margelov (22 June 1944 – 11 May 1945; promoted to major general 13 September 1944)

References

Sources

* * {{Soviet Union divisions G049 Military units and formations established in 1942 Military units and formations disestablished in 1946 Military units and formations awarded the Order of the Red Banner