68th Guards Rifle Division

The 68th Guards Rifle Division was reformed as an elite infantry division of the Red Army in February 1943, based on the 1st formation of the 96th Rifle Division, and served in that role until after the end of the Great Patriotic War. It originally served in the Stalingrad Group of Forces, mopping up in the ruins of that city after the Axis surrender there before eventually being assigned to the 4th Guards Army and moving north to the Kursk area in the Steppe Military District. It entered combat with its Army during the Belgorod-Kharkov Offensive in August and continued fighting toward the Dniepr River and Kiev during the autumn and early winter. From late September until early November it was involved in the fighting around the Bukrin bridgeheads which ultimately ended in a stalemate. The 68th Guards was part of 1st Ukrainian Front until September, 1944 but was subordinated to numerous army and corps commands during this period and won an honorific in western Ukraine during March; subsequently it was also awarded the Order of the Red Banner for its part in the liberation of Lvov. After being removed to the Reserve of the Supreme High Command for much-needed rebuilding its combat path shifted into the Balkans. While rebuilding its antitank battalion had its towed pieces replaced with self-propelled guns and at the beginning of November the entire division was temporarily motorized to take part in an unsuccessful attempt to seize the city of Budapest via a mechanized thrust. The 68th Guards spent the remainder of the war fighting in Hungary and Austria; its regiments would all receive recognition for their roles in the battles for Budapest. The division was finally assigned to the 30th Rifle Corps of 26th Army in January, 1945 and remained under these headquarters for the duration of the war. Despite a solid record of service the 68th Guards was disbanded within two years.

Formation

The 96th was redesignated as the 68th Guards on February 6, shortly after the German surrender at Stalingrad, and officially received its Guards banner on March 19. Once the division completed its reorganization its order of battle was as follows:
* 198th Guards Rifle Regiment (from 1381st Rifle Regiment)
* 200th Guards Rifle Regiment (from 1384th Rifle Regiment)
* 202nd Guards Rifle Regiment (from 1389th Rifle Regiment)
* 136th Guards Artillery Regiment (from 1059th Artillery Regiment)
* 72nd Guards Antitank Battalion (later 72nd Guards Self-Propelled Artillery Battalion)
* 508th Guards Antiaircraft Battery (until April 20, 1943)
* 70th Guards Reconnaissance Company
* 78th Guards Sapper Battalion
* 98th Guards Signal Battalion (as of December 2, 1944, 98th Guards Signal Company)
* 75th Guards Medical/Sanitation Battalion
* 71st Guards Chemical Defense (Anti-gas) Company
* 74th Guards Motor Transport Company
* 67th Guards Field Bakery
* 69th Guards Divisional Veterinary Hospital
* 1871st Field Postal Station
* 1190th Field Office of the State Bank
Col. Georgii Petrovich Isakov, who had commanded the 96th since October 9, 1942 remained in command; he would be promoted to the rank of major general on February 22. The division had been in the 57th Army on February 1 but was then transferred to 21st Army and shortly after to the Stalingrad Group of Forces where it remained until March 1.

Into Ukraine

After leaving the Stalingrad Group the 68th Guards was reassigned to the 24th Army in the Reserve of the Supreme High Command. In April it was subordinated to the new 21st Guards Rifle Corps along with the 69th Guards and 84th Rifle Divisions as the 24th became the 4th Guards Army within the Steppe Military District. The division remained under these commands and in roughly the same area east of the Kursk salient until early August. In June it was noted that nearly all the personnel of the division were Siberian or of Turkmen nationality and that roughly 50 percent were from the 1918 - 1924 year groups (19-25 year-olds).

Following the defeat of the German ''Zitadelle'' offensive the 4th Guards Army, under command of Lt. Gen. G. I. Kulik and still in reserve, was concentrating in the area of Chernyanka, Orlik and Loznoe on July 23. By August 17 the Army had been assigned to Army Gen. N. F. Vatutin's Voronezh Front and was now concentrated in the area from Yamnoye to Novaya Ryabina to Yablochnoye. As the Front pressed on towards Kharkov panzer forces of Army Group South counterattacked in the area of Akhtyrka and Vatutin received orders to eliminate this grouping to ward off the possible isolation of 27th Army. These orders were passed to the 27th, the 4th and 6th Guards and 1st Tank Armies. 4th Guards initially committed two divisions of its 20th Guards Rifle Corps to this effort and by August 20 the German riposte was brought to a halt. The Army was tasked with attacking toward Kotelva the following day; by August 27 it had reached the Vorskla River

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