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| 25th Rifle Division | |
|---|---|
| Active | I Formation: 1918–1942 II Formation: 1943–1946 |
| Country |  Soviet Union |
| Branch | .svg) Red Army |
| Type | Infantry |
| Size | Division |
| Engagements | Russian Civil War Soviet invasion of Poland |
| Decorations |  Order of Lenin (1st formation) Order of the Red Banner (1st formation) |
| Battle honours | named forV.I. Chapayev |
| Commanders | |
| Notable commanders | Gaspar Voskanyan Mikhail Velikanov Vasily Chapayev |
The25th Rifle Division (Russian:25-я стрелковая дивизия) was a rifle division of theSoviet Union'sRed Army during theSecond World War, formed twice.
Formed in 1918, it was a Russian, and laterSoviet,Red Army formation formed on theEastern Front during theRussian Civil War. It was named after its first commander,Vasily Chapayev. As Chapayev's command it gained fame during the war and as a result received his name, designated the 25th Chapayev Rifle Division (Russian:25-я Чапаевская стрелковая дивизия). The division was transferred west to fight in thePolish–Soviet War and was stationed in Ukraine during theinterwar period. Moved forward to participate in theSoviet occupation of Bessarabia in 1940, the division retreated east after Germany invaded the Soviet Union inOperation Barbarossa. It was disbanded after being destroyed in thesiege of Sevastopol in mid-1942.
The 25th was formed for a second time, without inheriting the honors of the original unit, in 1943. This unit served in theArkhangelsk Military District without seeing combat in the rest of the war, and was disbanded shortly after the end of the war.
The division was formed in 1918 at the beginning of theRussian Civil War under the command of Vasily Chapayev. Chapayev previously served in theImperial Russian Army during World War I. The division deployed to the Urals where it fought theUral Cossacks in theZavolzhye region. On October 7, 1918, the division fought atSamara, on March 11, 1919, it fought atUralsk, and on January 2, 1920, the division occupied enteredAtyrau (then Guriev) for theBolsheviks.
In May 1920, the division transferred to theUkrainian front. It aided the successfuldefence of Kiev against thePoles, before moving on to captureKovel and participate in further operations along theSouthern Bug. From April 1921 to the December 1922 the division was responsible for suppressingUkrainian independence forces.
On 30 November 1921 the division was renamed the 25th Poltava Rifle Division before becoming the 25th Kremenchug Rifle Division on 4 January 1922. In 1922 the division became part of theUkrainian Military District, which became the Kiev Military District in 1935. Its former designation, the 25th Chapayev Red Banner Rifle Division, was restored on 11 July 1925. The division was awarded theHonorary Revolutionary Red Banner in 1928 and theOrder of Lenin in 1933. The division transferred to theOdessa Military District in May 1940 in preparation for theSoviet occupation of Bessarabia in June and July of that year. After participating in the occupation, the 25th became part of the9th Army.[1]
On June 24, 1941,Stavka Order #20466 attached the 25th Rifle Division to the14th Rifle Corps,9th Army,Southern Front. It took part in theBattle of Odessa, and was evacuated by sea in October 1941 prior to the city's fall. The division arrived inSevastopol in time to prepare for the defence of the port against the oncomingGerman offensive. The division was destroyed during the followingsiege of Sevastopol in July 1942. The sniperLyudmila Pavlichenko served with the division in this period, credited with a total of 309 kills.
The division was subsequently reformed in theArkhangelsk Military District in 1943. It did not see any further action in the Second World War.[2] While Poirer and Connor list further fighting it took part in, it is believed that this information was incorrect. It was attached to the4th Rifle Corps of theBelomorsky Military District in May 1945.
The division (Military Unit Number 15887) was disbanded on 10 July 1946 along with the corps.[3] The name 'Chapeyevskaya' was later given to the25th Guards Rifle Division.
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