The 46th Nizhnedneprovskaya Rocket Division was a

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

Strategic Rocket Forces The Strategic Rocket Forces of the Russian Federation or the Strategic Missile Forces of the Russian Federation (RVSN RF; russian: Ракетные войска стратегического назначения Российской Фед� ...

, active from 1961–62 to 1992 under the Soviet Union, and from 1992 to 2002 as part of Ukraine. The division traced its history back to the 188th Rifle Division, formed in Kaunas in spring 1941. The division fought in the

Battle of the Dnieper The Battle of the Dnieper was a military campaign that took place in 1943 in Ukraine on the Eastern Front of World War II. One of the largest operations of the war, it involved almost 4,000,000 troops at a time stretched on a front. Over four m ...

, for which it was awarded the honorific "Lower Dnieper". After the

Second Jassy–Kishinev Offensive The second (symbol: s) is the unit of time in the International System of Units (SI), historically defined as of a day – this factor derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes and finally to 60 seconds each ...

it garrisoned

Sliven Sliven ( bg, Сливен ) is the eighth-largest city in Bulgaria and the administrative and industrial centre of Sliven Province and municipality in Northern Thrace. Sliven is famous for its heroic Haiduts who fought against the Ottoman Turk ...

in Bulgaria. At some point it moved to Pervomaisk in Ukraine and became the 20th Rifle Division in 1955. In 1957, it became the 93rd Motor Rifle Division and was disbanded in 1959. In 1960, the 29th Rocket Brigade was formed in Pervomaisk and became the 46th Rocket Division in 1960. The 46th Rocket Division inherited the honors and awards of the 188th Rifle Division. After the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the division became part of Ukrainian military and was disbanded by 2002.

History

World War II

The history of the 46th Rocket Division starts from April 29, 1941, when the formation of the 188th Rifle Division was completed in Kaunas. With

29th Rifle Corps The 29th Rifle Corps ( lt, 29-asis teritorinis šaulių korpusas) was formed several times in Soviet Red Army, each formation primarily seeing combat on the Eastern Front during World War II. The first formation of the 29th Rifle Corps was known ...

of 11th Army on 22.6.41. Fought in central Russia and the Ukraine. It was with the

82nd Rifle Corps The 82nd Rifle Corps () was a rifle corps of the Red Army and later the Soviet Army. Formed in mid-1943, the corps served with the 37th Army during most of World War II. It fought in the advance southwest from the Dnieper and into Romania and Bu ...

of the 37th Army in Bulgaria in May 1945. The division played a part in the liberation of Ukraine and Moldova. The division's soldiers showed heroism and courage, and three soldiers were awarded the

Hero of the Soviet Union The title Hero of the Soviet Union (russian: Герой Советского Союза, translit=Geroy Sovietskogo Soyuza) was the highest distinction in the Soviet Union, awarded together with the Order of Lenin personally or collectively for ...

, and more than 7000 were awarded military orders and medals. For successful operations in the breakout through heavily fortified German defenses in the area north-east of the city of

Krivoy Rog Kryvyi Rih ( uk, Криви́й Ріг , lit. "Curved Bend" or "Crooked Horn"), also known as Krivoy Rog (Russian: Кривой Рог) is the largest city in central Ukraine, the 7th most populous city in Ukraine and the 2nd largest by area. Kr ...

, the crossing of the Dnieper, and the liberation of the Lower Dnieper, the division on the order of the Supreme Commander on 17 February 1944 was awarded the honorary title "Nizhnedneprovskiy". For exceptional Service to the Motherland in the Great Patriotic War, particularly distinguishing themselves in the battles for the liberation of Krivoi Rog, the division in February 1944 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 ...

Cold War

It became the 52nd Rifle Brigade postwar at

Zaporizhia Zaporizhzhia ( uk, Запоріжжя) or Zaporozhye (russian: Запорожье) is a city in southeast Ukraine, situated on the banks of the Dnieper River. It is the administrative centre of Zaporizhzhia Oblast. Zaporizhzhia has a populatio ...

with the

in the summer of 1946.Feskov et al 2013, p. 488 In October 1953, it was upgraded to a division again. The division appears to trace its history through its 1955 redesignation as the 20th Rifle Division and later the 93rd Motor Rifle Division (1957–59). On 17 May 1957, it became the 93rd Motor Rifle Division, part of the

25th Army Corps The 25th Army Corps was an army corps of the Soviet Ground Forces active from 1957–1960 and 1980–89. In its first period of existence it was in the Odessa Military District, and in its second period of existence it garrisoned the remote Kamchatk ...

. The division included the 11th, 27th and 38th Motor Rifle Regiments, the 352nd Tank Regiment and other units. The division disbanded on 1 March 1959. In May 1960, the 29th Rocket Brigade was activated as part of the

43rd Rocket Army The 43rd Red Banner Rocket Army was an army of the Soviet Strategic Rocket Forces. It was formed in Vinnytsia from the 43rd Air Army of Long Range Aviation. In 1991, it came under the control of the Commonwealth of Independent States while statio ...

. It was commanded by Colonel Ivan Khomenko. In 1961, it was composed of the 62nd, 84th and 434th Missile Regiments. The 434th was stationed at Pervomaisk and equipped with

R-14 Chusovaya The R-14 Chusovaya (russian: Чусовая) was a single stage Intermediate-range ballistic missile developed by the Soviet Union during the Cold War. It was given the NATO reporting name SS-5 Skean and was known by GRAU index 8K65. It was des ...

theatre ballistic missiles. The 84th was at

Simferopol Simferopol () is the second-largest city in the Crimean Peninsula. The city, along with the rest of Crimea, is internationally recognised as part of Ukraine, and is considered the capital of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea. However, it is ...

and had R-5M missiles. The 62nd was at

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and had SS-4 Sandal theater ballistic missiles. The division became part of the Strategic Missile Forces in 1961. On April 29, 1961 on the basis of the 29th Rocket Brigade control (of Pervomaisk) was formed the headquarters of the 46th missile, Nizhnedneprovskiy, Red Banner Division. In 1962, it inherited the awards and honorary titles of the 93rd MRD and thus became the "Nizhnedneprovskaya Red Banner" Division. In 1991 it comprised the 62nd, 309th, 83rd, 115th, 116th, 355th, 593rd, 546th, and 552nd Rocket Regiments. In the 1994–97 period all the regiments were first de-alerted, and then from 1997–2002, disbanded. Forty RS-22 missiles were removed from their silos; 30 silos were eliminated; storage facilities for the RS-22s were built at the 24th Arsenal GRAU (

Military Unit Number A Military Unit Number (Russian: Войсковая часть) is a numeric alternate designation for military units in the armed forces and internal troops of post-Soviet states, originally used by those of the Soviet Union The Soviet ...

14247, A2365; Lviv-50 facility), p. Mykhaylenky, Zhytomyr region); warehouses at Pervomaisk were used for storage of the missiles; and 20 silos were remodelled.

Organization in 1941

Structure in 1941: * Headquarters * 523rd Rifle Regiment * 580th Rifle Regiment * 595th Rifle Regiment * 234th Light Artillery Regiment * 228th Howitzer Artillery Regiment * 9th Anti-Tank Battalion * 260th Reconnaissance Battalion * 352nd Engineer Battalion * 557th Signal Battalion * 25th Medical Battalion * 141st Supply Battalion * 18th Chemical Defense Company

References

*Michael Hol
46th Missile Division
{{Soviet Union divisions Rocket divisions of the Soviet Union Divisions of Ukraine Artillery units and formations of Ukraine Military units and formations established in 1961 Military units and formations disestablished in 2002 Military units and formations awarded the Order of the Red Banner