| 54th Guards Rifle Division | |
|---|---|
| Active | 1942–1946 |
| Country |  Soviet Union |
| Branch | .svg) Red Army |
| Type | Division |
| Role | Infantry |
| Engagements | Operation Ring Operation Gallop Donbas Strategic Offensive (August 1943) Lower Dnieper Offensive Lvov–Sandomierz Offensive Prague Offensive |
| Decorations | |
| Battle honours | Makeevka |
The54th Guards Rifle Division was an infantry division of theRed Army duringWorld War II.
The division was created on December 16, 1942, from the second formation of the119th Rifle Division. It was assigned the honorific title of "Guards" in recognition of that division's leading role inOperation Uranus, the breakthrough that led to the encirclement of the German/Romanian forces in Stalingrad, and the subsequent elimination of the3rd Romanian Army. The 54th Guards Division continued a record of distinguished service through the rest of World War II.
The 54th Guards was one of the first of many Guards rifle divisions created from the divisions that fought in theBattle of Stalingrad. When formed, itsorder of battle was as follows:
At the time of its formation the division it was serving in the5th Tank Army of theDon Front. Later in the Stalingrad campaign it was transferred to various armies of theSouthwestern Front. In February 1943 it was in the18th Rifle Corps of the3rd Guards Army[2] and in the spring was reassigned to the3rd Guards Rifle Corps, where it remained for the duration.[1]
The 54th Guards Division, along this its corps, was soon reassigned to theSouthern Front (renamed4th Ukrainian Front on October 20, 1943) and served there for the next 12 months, mostly as part of the5th Shock Army. It campaigned through theDonbas,southern Ukraine, and finally across theDnepr River in October 1943. During that time, the division was credited with the liberation of the town ofMakeevka ineastern Ukraine, and was given its name as an honorific. After the advance ground to a halt along theDniester River in the spring of 1944, the division was withdrawn into theStavka Reserve, and after rebuilding was reassigned to the28th Army of the1st Ukrainian Front. During this rebuilding, the division became one of the first rifle divisions to have its towed anti-tank gun battalion replaced with a battalion ofSU-76 self-propelled guns.[1]
With its Army, the 54th Guards drove into central Poland in the summer, and in early 1945 moved into Latvia to help mop up the German forces there. Following this, the 28th Army was shifted back across Poland, to join the 1st Ukrainian Front'soffensive into Czechoslovakia in early May. The division ended the war near Prague. By this time the division had the following honorifics: Makeevka,Order of Lenin,Order of the Red Banner,Order of Suvorov,Order of Kutuzov).[1]
After World War II, the division was relocated to Belarus with the3rd Guards Rifle Corps atKobryn. In the spring of 1946 the division and its corps were transferred to the3rd Army, and disbanded within the next six months.[3]
