The 99th Rifle Division (

Russian Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including: *Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...

: 99-я стрелковая дивизия ''99-ya strelkovaya diviziya'') was an

infantry Infantry is a military specialization which engages in ground combat on foot. Infantry generally consists of light infantry, mountain infantry, motorized infantry & mechanized infantry, airborne infantry, air assault infantry, and mar ...

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

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 ...

which fought in

World War II 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 opposing ...

. It was first formed in 1924, destroyed, reformed and raised to Guards status, and then reformed once again.

First formation

It was first formed in April 1924 at Cherkassy in the Ural MD on the basis of the 44th Rifle Division as the 99th (territorial) Rifle Division. In 1926 it consisted of the 295th, 296th, and 297th Rifle Regiments. In 1931 it was translated(transferred) on a personnel basis. In 1939 it 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. Subs ...

as part of the

13th Rifle Corps The 13th Rifle Corps () was a rifle corps of the Red Army, first formed in 1922. On October 12, 1922, the Corps began forming in the Turkestan Front. Alexander Todorsky became the corps commander. The corps participated in the suppression of the ...

, 12th Army, Ukrainian Front. On 29 September 1939 the division entered Przemyśl. Recognised as one of the best divisions in the Army under Andrey Vlasov's command in 1940. On 22 June 1941 it was serving with

8th Rifle Corps The 8th Estonian Rifle Corps (2nd formation) (russian: 8-й Эстонский стрелковый корпус, et, 8. Eesti Laskurkorpus) was a formation in the Red Army, created on 6 November 1942, during World War II. An 8th Rifle Corps ( ...

, 26th Army, Southwestern Front, and participated in a counterstroke at Przemyśl (Перемышль). During the

German-Soviet War The Eastern Front of World War II was a theatre of conflict between the European Axis powers against the Soviet Union (USSR), Poland and other Allies, which encompassed Central Europe, Eastern Europe, Northeast Europe (Baltics), and Sout ...

, on 27 June 1941 the division left Przemyśl for Нижанковичи, Рудня, Комарно, Nikolaev, and then Vinnitsa. On 22 July 1941 the division 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 t ...

for its actions at Przemyśl. In the Uman encirclement in July–August 1941, most of the division was lost or was taken prisoner, with only a part of the division artillery and rear services avoiding capture; in total, from the Uman 'kessel' only about two thousand soldiers broke free, though carrying with them the divisional banner, and also the banners of its units. On 1 May 1942 the division was part of the 57th Army alongside the

14th Guards Rifle Division The 14th Guards Rifle Division was reformed as an elite infantry division of the Red Army in January, 1942, based on the 1st formation of the 96th Rifle Division, which was officially a mountain unit at the time, and served in that role until afte ...

, 150th, 317th, and 351st Rifle Divisions preparing to fight what became the Second Battle of Kharkov. During the battle the division was practically wiped out at

Izyum Izium or Izyum ( uk, Ізюм, ; russian: Изюм) is a city on the Donets River in Kharkiv Oblast ( province) of eastern Ukraine. It serves as the administrative center of Izium Raion (district). Izium hosts the administration of Izium urban ...

in mid-May 1942, when it was surrounded at Barvenkovo (place), with only 1067 of the unit's personnel managing to evade capture. From 8 to 15 June 1942 the division was transferred out of the Southern Front, and from the Redkovskiye Peski area the division was sent to Balashov to be reorganised. During this period it was part of the 6th Reserve Army.The division was with 6th Reserve Army on 1 July 1942. http://www.tashv.nm.ru/BoevojSostavSA/1942/19420701.html From 10 July 1942 the division was transferred to the 8th Reserve Army, though it may have stayed at Balashov, reforming, until as late as August 1942. The division then fought at Stalingrad. On 1 September 1942 the division was part of the 66th Army, preparing for its part in

Operation Uranus Operation Uranus (russian: Опера́ция «Ура́н», Operatsiya "Uran") was the codename of the Soviet Red Army's 19–23 November 1942 strategic operation on the Eastern Front of World War II which led to the encirclement of Axis ...

, and 1 December 1942 the division was still with the 66th Army but the Army had been transferred from the Stalingrad Front to the

Don Front The Don Front was a front of the Soviet Red Army during the Second World War, which existed between September 1942 and February 1943, and was commanded during its entire existence by Konstantin Rokossovsky. The name refers to Don River, Russia. Fo ...

. By 10 March 1943, as part of the

62nd Army The 62nd Army (russian: 62-я армия) was a field army established by the Soviet Union's Red Army during the Second World War. Formed as the 7th Reserve Army as part of the Reserve of the Supreme High Command in May 1942, the formation was des ...

the division was loaded on a train at station Panshino and sent to the disposition of the Southwestern Front at Dvurechnaya station (literally two-rivers). On 18 April 1943 it became the 88th Guards Rifle Division.

2nd formation

The division was recreated from 99th Rifle Brigade in May 1943. Fought near Zhitomir and in Carpathians. With 46th Army of the

2nd Ukrainian Front The 2nd Ukrainian Front (2-й Украинский фронт), was a front of the Red Army during the Second World War. History On October 20, 1943 the Steppe Front was renamed the 2nd Ukrainian Front. During the Second Jassy–Kishinev ...

5.45. The division was withdrawn to

Dubăsari Dubăsari ( ro, Dubăsari , Moldovan Cyrillic alphabet: Дубэсарь) or Dubossary (russian: Дубоссары; yi, דובאסאר; uk, Дубоcсари) is a city in Transnistria, with a population of 23,650. Claimed by both the Republic ...

in 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 ...

with the 10th Guards Rifle Corps by spring 1946, where it was reduced to the 37th Separate Rifle Brigade. The latter was soon disbanded in December 1946.

Awards and honours

The division won four awards and an honorific title. On 22 July 1941 the division was awarded the

for its fighting at Przemyśl. On 14 October 1943 the division was awarded the honourable name "Zaporozhye". On 19 September 1944 it was awarded the Order of Bogdan Khmelnitsky. On 9 August 1944 it was awarded the

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, 19 ...

, and on 26 May 1945 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 ...

. On 18 May 1945, its commander, Colonel Derzian, decorated members of Major General Paul's 26th Infantry Division in Upper Austria "for illustrious fulfillment of battle orders of the Command in the war against the German invader".

References

Citations

Bibliography

* *http://www.rkka.ru/handbook/guard/88gvsd.htm
99th Rifle Division (Russian)
{{Soviet Union divisions before 1945 099 Military units and formations established in 1924 Military units and formations disestablished in 1946