| 53rd Rifle Division | |
|---|---|
| Active | 1931–1946 (1st Formation) 1955 (2nd Formation) |
| Country |  Soviet Union |
| Branch | Red Army |
| Type | Infantry |
| Size | Division |
| Engagements | |
| Decorations |
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| Battle honours |
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The53rd Rifle Division was an infantry division of theRed Army that served from the early 1930s to the immediate postwar period followingWorld War II.
The 53rd was formed in 1931 as a territorial division;Ivan Boldin became its first commander and military commissar in April of that year, and would hold that position until December 1934.[1] It was stationed in theVolga Military District with the12th Rifle Corps. By 1935, the division was headquartered atEngels and included the 157th Rifle Regiment at Engels, the 158th Rifle Regiment atKrasny Kut, the 159th Rifle Regiment atPugachyov, and the 53rd Artillery Regiment at Pugachyov.[2] On 8 July 1937 it received the honorific "named for Friedrich Engels". Before the war it became part of the21st Army in theGomel Region of theWestern Special Military District.[3]
Poirer and Connor, in their 1985Red Army Order of Battle, say that the division fought atYelnya, on theDnieper River, atUman and Targul Frumos. For its actions in the capture ofJassy, the division was awarded theOrder of the Red Banner on 15 September 1944.[4] The division was with46th Army of the2nd Ukrainian Front in May 1945.
The division was disbanded on 30 June 1946 in theOdessa Military District with the34th Rifle Corps of the40th Army.[5][6]
In 1955, the division was reformed from the318th Rifle Division with the3rd Rifle Corps atUzhhorod, inheriting the honorifics "Novorossiysk Order of Suvorov". On 9 September 1955, it became the 39th Mechanized Division.[7] The division received personnel and equipment from the disbanded13th Guards Mechanized Division in fall 1955 and on 4 December became the 39th Guards Mechanized Division.[8]
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) Divisions of the Soviet Union 1945–1957 | |||||||||
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