| 91st Rifle Division | |
|---|---|
| Active | First Formation: 1939–1941 Second Formation: 1941–1953 |
| Country |  Soviet Union |
| Branch | Red Army (to 1946) Soviet Army (after 1946) |
| Engagements |
|
| Decorations |  Order of the Red Banner(2nd Formation) |
| Battle honours | Melitopol (2nd Formation) |
The91st Rifle Division was an infantry division of theRed Army andSoviet Army, formed twice. The division was first formed in 1939, fought in theWinter War, and was destroyed in the Vyazma Pocket during theBattle of Moscow. It was reformed in December 1941 and fought in theBattle of Stalingrad and theCrimean Offensive, earning the honorific "Melitopol" and theOrder of the Red Banner. The division was downsized into a brigade postwar but became a division again in 1953. It became a motor rifle division in 1957.
The 91st Rifle Division was formed inAchinsk by 1 December 1939 in theSiberian Military District from elements of the94th Rifle Division as part of the52nd Rifle Corps, under the command of ColonelNikita Lebedenko. The division became a motor rifle division on 5 January 1940. The division fought in the closing stages of theWinter War and returned to Achinsk in April 1940, when it became a rifle division again. On 26 June 1941, after theGerman invasion of the Soviet Union four days earlier, the 91st Rifle Division began loading onto trains. On 29 June it left Achinsk. Between 8 and 10 July the trains arrived inYelnya andSychyovka. The division and its corps, which also included the119th Rifle Division, joined the24th Army.[1]
The 91st Rifle Division was active with 52nd Rifle Corps (24th Army) in June 1941,[2] and then transferred to19th Army,Western Front before being destroyed atVyazma. The Soviet defense, still under construction, was overrun and spearheads of the2nd and Third Panzer Groups met at Vyazma on 10 October 1941.[3][4] Four Soviet armies (the19th,20th, the 24th, and32nd) were trapped in a huge pocket just west of the city.[5] It was formally disbanded in December 1941.
On 5 December 1941 the 464th Rifle Division was formed inDagestan in theNorth Caucasus Military District, near the cities ofMakhachkala andBataysk. On 27 January 1942 the division was redesignated the 91st Rifle Division (Second Formation) in theNorth Caucasus Military District.[6] On 19 November 1942, the division was fighting in theBattle of Stalingrad, part of the51st Army of theStalingrad Front under General N.I. Trufinov.[7] On 1 April 1944, the division was part of the1st Guards Rifle Corps of 51st Army and appears to have become involved in theBattle of the Crimea.[8]
In August 1945, the 91st Rifle Division (Military Unit Number 34562) moved to theKazan Military District atSarapul with the10th Rifle Corps. In 1946, it became the 14th Rifle Brigade, after being transferred to theUral Military District as a result of the disbandment of the Kazan Military District. In October 1953, the brigade became the 91st Rifle Division again. On 4 June 1957, the division became the91st Motor Rifle Division after relocating toPerm.[9] In 1959 it was disbanded.[10]
In 1960 the newly formed 8th Rocket Division was given the division's awards and honors.[11]
 Divisions of the Soviet Union 1945–1957 | |||||||||
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Guards units marked inbold. | |||||||||