34th Rifle Division (Soviet Union)
| 34th Rifle Division | |
|---|---|
| Active | 1920-1945; 1955-1956 |
| Country | Soviet Union |
| Allegiance | Red Army |
| Branch | Infantry |
| Garrison/HQ | Samara (as territorial division) |
| Engagements | Soviet invasion of Manchuria |
| Decorations |  Order of the Red Star (1st formation) |
| Battle honours | Middle Volga (1st formation) In the name of Valerian Kuybyshev (1st formation) |
The 34th Rifle Division was an infantry division of the Red Army, formed twice. The division was first formed in 1920. It fought in the Soviet invasion of Manchuria in August 1945. Postwar, it became the 11th Machine Gun Artillery Division. The 34th was reformed from the 216th Rifle Division in 1955 but disbanded in 1956.
Contents
History
The 34th was originally formed as a territorial division of the Volga Military District. It was named "Middle Volga" on 13 February 1930.[1] In March 1934, it attained Cadre status and was transferred to the Far Eastern Military District. On 10 June 1935, it received the honorific "In the name of Valerian Kuybyshev".[1] It was part of the 15th Army and the 18th Rifle Corps [2] and fought in the Soviet invasion of Manchuria. In the Soviet invasion of Manchuria, the division participated in the offensive across the Sungari River.[3] It became part of the 5th Rifle Corps from 3 September 1945. For its combat service, it was awarded the Order of the Red Star on 14 September 1945.[1] However, Avanzini and Crowfoot say that it was awarded the Order of the Red Banner.[4] It became the 11th Machine Gun Artillery Division in 1948.[5]
In 1955, it was briefly reformed from the 216th Rifle Division at Baku with the 4th Army. It was disbanded on 7 July 1956.[6]
Commanders
The following officers commanded the division.[1][4]
- Semyon Avvakumovich Spilnichenko (1925)
- Mikhail Khozin (1926-1932)
- Komdiv Vilyam Yuryevich Rohi (?-1937) - arrested and shot during the Great Purge
- Prokofy Loginovich Romanenko (May 1940 – 1941)
- Colonel Aleksei Ivanovich Prilepsky (26 March 1941 – 7 February 1942)
- Major General Nikolai Alekseevich Kichaev (8 February 1942 – 27 April 1943)
- Colonel Ignat Andreevich Vetvitsky (28 April-14 December 1943)
- Colonel Stephen Vladimorovich Kolomiets (15 December 1943 – 3 September 1945) - promoted to Major General on 13 September 1944
Composition
The division included the following units during World War II.[4]
- 83rd Rifle Regiment
- 134th Rifle Regiment
- 327th Rifle Regiment
- 63rd Artillery Regiment
- 145th Howitzer Artillery Regiment
- 75th Separate Antitank Artillery Battalion
- 478th Separate Antiaircraft Artillery Battalion
- 7th Reconnaissance Company
- 59th Sapper Battalion
- 89th Separate Signals Battalion
- 12th Medical Battalion
- 14th Separate Chemical Defense Company
- 9th Repair and Reconstruction Company
- 58th Auto Transport Company
- 102nd Field Bakery
- 62nd Divisional Artillery Workshop Battalion
- 33rd Field Mobile Hospital
- 217th Veterinary Field Hospital
- 69th Field Postal Station
- 265th Field Cash Office of the State Bank
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Feskov et al 2013
- ↑ Feskov et al 2013, p. 152
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