The 80th Rifle Division (russian: 80-я стрелковая дивизия) was a

rifle A rifle is a long-barreled firearm designed for accurate shooting, with a barrel that has a helical pattern of grooves ( rifling) cut into the bore wall. In keeping with their focus on accuracy, rifles are typically designed to be held with ...

division Division or divider may refer to: Mathematics *Division (mathematics), the inverse of multiplication *Division algorithm, a method for computing the result of mathematical division Military *Division (military), a formation typically consisting ...

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 ...

, formed twice. The division was first formed in 1923 and was stationed in eastern Ukraine. It was destroyed in mid-1941 in the

Battle of Uman The Battle of Uman (15 July – 8 August 1941) was the World War II German offensive in Uman, Ukraine against the 6th and 12th Soviet Armies. In a three-week period, the Wehrmacht encircled and annihilated the two Soviet armies. The battle oc ...

. Its second formation was formed from a People's Militia division in

Leningrad Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

, fighting in the

siege A siege is a military blockade of a city, or fortress, with the intent of conquering by attrition warfare, attrition, or a well-prepared assault. This derives from la, sedere, lit=to sit. Siege warfare is a form of constant, low-intensity con ...

of that city from September. In early 1944 it fought in the Leningrad–Novgorod Offensive, which ended the siege. The division then served with the 59th Army in its westward advance, and was disbanded postwar.

1st formation

The division was established in 1923 in 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 ...

, initially as a territorial rifle division. The division's initial composition was: *410th Rifle Regiment *467th Rifle Regiment *519th Rifle Regiment *346th Artillery Regiment It remained a part of the Ukrainian Military District until 1935 when the eastern half of the Ukraine was used to create the Kharkiv Military District and the division was assigned to it. In the summer of 1939 in the Kharkiv MD, the 239th Rifle Regiment was used to form the 141st Rifle Division. The headquarters of the division was used to reform the division to full strength at

Mariupol Mariupol (, ; uk, Маріу́поль ; russian: Мариу́поль) is a city in Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine. It is situated on the northern coast (Pryazovia) of the Sea of Azov, at the mouth of the Kalmius River. Prior to the 2022 Russian i ...

during February 1939. On 22 June 1941 the division was part of the

37th Rifle Corps 37th may refer to: *37th (Howitzer) Brigade Royal Field Artillery, a brigade of the Royal Field Artillery which served in the First World War * 37th (North Hampshire) Regiment of Foot, raised in Ireland in February 1702 * 37th (Northern Ontario) Ba ...

of the 6th Army. The division fought in Don Basin and near Kattowits during the defensive battles on the Ukrainian border (22 June 1941 - 27 June 1941), but was destroyed in withdrawal during the

in September 1941.

2nd formation

Almost immediately the division was reformed in

from volunteers by redesignating the ''First Guards Division of People's Militia'' (Первая гвардейская дивизия народного ополчения) from 23 September 1941 as 80th Rifle Division (2nd formation). Its 1st and 2nd rifle regiments came from the workers of the Leningrad's Neva rayon, and its 3rd rifle and artillery regiments and other sub-units were formed from workers of the Kuybishev rayon. The division was first committed to combat on the 11th of August west of

Volosovo Volosovo (russian: Волосово) is the name of several types of inhabited localities in Russia, inhabited localities in Russia. Leningrad Oblast As of 2022, two inhabited localities in Leningrad Oblast bear this name. ;Urban localities *Volos ...

(35 km from Krasnogvardeysk), where it successfully defended its sector for several days until the Army withdrew. From the end of August the division was a part of the Koporsk operational group, and later the 8th Army during the battles for the coastal positions around Leningrad, holding positions around

Ropsha Ropsha ( rus, Ропша, p=ˈropʂə) is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, settlement in Lomonosovsky District, Leningrad Oblast, Lomonosovsky District of Leningrad Oblast, Russia, situated about south of Petergof, Peterhof and south ...

and south of Oranienbaum. As part of the 54th Army of the

Volkhov Front The Volkhov Front (russian: Волховский фронт) was a major formation of the Red Army during the first period of the Second World War. It was formed as an expediency of an early attempt to halt the advance of the Wehrmacht Army Group ...

the division participated in the

Tikhvin Offensive Tikhvin (russian: Ти́хвин; Veps: ) is a town and the administrative center of Tikhvinsky District in Leningrad Oblast, Russia, located on both banks of the Tikhvinka River in the east of the oblast, east of St. Petersburg. Tikhvin ...

(10 November 1941 - 30 December 1941), and the Leningrad-Novgorod Strategic Offensive Operation (14 January 1944 - 1 March 1944) for which it was awarded the Order of Kutuzov, 2nd Class and the honorific "Lyuban" in honor of its capture of Lyuban. The division ended its combat service during the German-Soviet War in Czechoslovakia with the 59th Army of the

1st Ukrainian Front The 1st Ukrainian Front (Russian: Пéрвый Украи́нский фронт), previously the Voronezh Front (Russian: Воронежский Фронт) was a major formation of the Soviet Army during World War II, being equivalent to a ...

. It was disbanded in the northern hemisphere summer of 1945 with the

Central Group of Forces The Central Group of Forces (Russian: Центральная группа войск) was a formation of the Soviet Armed Forces used to incorporate Soviet troops in Central Europe on two occasions: in Austria and Hungary from 1945 to 1955 and tr ...

Notes

References

* *Shuvalov, N.K., "We became soldiers", Leningrad, 1973 (Шувалов Н. К., "Мы становимся солдатами", Ленинград, 1973) *Poirier, Robert G. and Conner, Albert Z., The Red Army Order of Battle in the Great Patriotic War: including data from 1919 to postwar years, Presidio Press, Novato, 1985

External links

Website dedicated to the 80th Rifle Division (First formation)
{{Use dmy dates, date=June 2017 080 Military units and formations established in 1923 Military units and formations disestablished in 1945 1923 establishments in the Soviet Union