| |
|---|---|
| Active | 1943–1992 |
| Country |  Soviet Union |
| Branch | Red Army (Soviet Army from 1946) |
| Type | Division |
| Role | Infantry, Mechanized Infantry, Tank |
| Part of | 8th Guards Army |
| Garrison/HQ | Jena (1945–1992) |
| Engagements | Lvov–Sandomierz Offensive Battle of Berlin |
| Decorations |
|
| Battle honours | Zaporozhye |
| Commanders | |
| Notable commanders | |
The79th Guards Rifle Division (Russian:79-я гвардейская стрелковая дивизия) was an infantry division of theRed Army duringWorld War II.
It was created on 1 March 1943 from the remnants of the284th Rifle Division, in recognition of that division's stalwart defense against the GermanSixth Army in theBattle of Stalingrad, in particular theMamayev Kurgan hill and parts of the city's center. The 79th Guards continued a record of distinguished service through the rest of the Great Patriotic War, and continued to serve postwar, in several roles, until being finally disbanded in 1992.
It became the 20th Guards Mechanized Division in 1945, 27th Guards Tank Division in 1957, and the 79th Guards Tank Division in 1965. It served with the8th Guards Army from 1943 until it was disbanded.
The 79th Guards was one of several Guards rifle divisions created on 1 March 1943 in the aftermath of the fighting for Stalingrad. It was formed from the remnants of the284th Rifle Division, in recognition of that division's stalwart defense against the German6th Army in theBattle of Stalingrad, in particular theMamayev Kurgan hill and parts of the city's center; it inherited theOrder of the Red Banner that the 284th received for these actions on 8 February. When formed, its major units included the:
The 284th Rifle Division's commander,Nikolay Batyuk, continued in command, being promoted to the rank of Major General on the day of the division's redesignation as well.[2] The62nd Army was renamed as the8th Guards Army on 16 April, and the 79th Guards remained in the latter, in28th Guards Rifle Corps, for the duration of the war.[3][4]
Transferred to theSouthwestern Front with the army, the division crossed theSeversky Donets on 18 June near the village ofPrishib, capturing a bridgehead, which it fought to retain and expand for the next several weeks.[2] The army fought in theIzyum-Barvenkovo Offensive in July, during which the division fought in fierce fighting on theIzyum bridgehead in theDonbas during theDonbas Strategic Offensive. Batyuk died of illness on 28 July,[5] and was replaced by ColonelLeonid Vagin, who was promoted to Major General on 17 November.[6] After the capture ofBarvenkovo on 10 September, the 79th Guards subsequently fought in theBattle of the Dnieper, advancing towardsZaporizhia. For its actions in therecapture of Zaporozhe on 14 October during the latter, the division received the name of the city as an honorific:[7]
"ZAPOROZHE"...79th Guards Rifle Division (Colonel Vagin, Leonid Ivanovich)... the troops who participated in the battles with the enemy, and the liberation of Zaporozhe, by the order of the Supreme High Command of 14 October 1943, and a commendation in Moscow, are given a salute of 20 artillery salvos from 224 guns.[8][1]
After crossing theDnieper on 25 October south ofVoyskovoye and for the next four months fought towardsNikopol in the attempts to recapture the far southern portion ofRight-bank Ukraine as part of the3rd Ukrainian Front (formed from the Southwestern Front on 20 October). On 3 March, on the line ofShyroke, south ofKrivoy Rog, during theBereznegovatoye–Snigirevka Offensive, the division broke through German defenses on the western bank of theInhulets River and participated in the recapture ofNovy Bug. For its "exemplary performance of combat missions" in these actions, the division received theOrder of Suvorov, 2nd class, on 19 March. During theOdessa Offensive the 79th Guards fought in the recapture ofOdessa on 10 April. For their "courage and fighting skill" the division was awarded theOrder of Bogdan Khmelnitsky, 2nd class, on 20 April.[3] After reaching theDniester and capturing a bridgehead north ofBender, the division was withdrawn with the army to theReserve of the Supreme High Command on 8 June.[7]
With the army, the division was relocated to theKovel region in June to join the1st Belorussian Front, after receiving reinforcements. During theLublin–Brest Offensive on 21 July the division crossed theWestern Bug and entered Polish territory. Along with other units, it participated in the capture ofLublin on 24 July. It then crossed theVistula nearSkórecka, six kilometers northeast ofMagnuszew. Among the first units of the river to cross were the division reconnaissance company and the 1st Battalion of the 216th Guards Rifle Regiment under the command of CaptainYefim Tsitovsky, who was made aHero of the Soviet Union. The bridgehead was subjected to repeated German counterattacks for the next ten days,[7] particularly on 8 August, for actions on which company commander LieutenantVladimir Burba and PrivatePyotr Khlyustin of the 220th Guards Rifle Regiment were posthumously made Heroes of the Soviet Union. For their actions in the bridgehead, ten soldiers of the division received the award.[3]
After continued actions on the Magnuszew bridgehead, the division fought in theWarsaw–Poznan Offensive from mid-January 1945, fighting nearŁódź,Pinne, andSkwierzyna and seizing a bridgehead across theOder on the left bank of the river south ofKustrin atReitwein on 3 February.[3] Vagin was severely wounded during the latter action and evacuated to the hospital; he would later be made a Hero of the Soviet Union for his leadership of the division.[7] The division came under the temporary command of47th Guards Rifle Division deputy commander ColonelIvan Semchenkov between 6 February and 14 March as it fought to retain the Kustrin bridgehead.[9] Semchenkov was replaced by ColonelStepan Gerasimenko, who had just graduated from an accelerated course at theHigher Military Academy.[10]
After overcoming fierce German resistance in theBattle of the Seelow Heights, the division approached the city on 23 April.[3] Gerasimenko was relieved of command on the next day for losing control of his troops;[10] he was replaced by Major GeneralDmitry Stankevsky, the 79th Guards' last wartime commander.[11] The army's final assault began two days later, with the division, backed by the39th Guards, ordered to surround and captureTempelhof Airfield, where it was suspected many German aircraft were hiding in underground hangars to fly out the Nazi leadership. After an assault crossing of theTeltow Canal the two divisions took the airfield and prevented out-going flights. Early on 2 May the 79th intercepted a radio transmission in Russian:
Hello, hello! This is the56th German Panzer Corps. We ask you to cease fire. At 12:50hrs our emissaries will be at the Potsdam Bridge. Identification: a white flag. Waiting for your reply.[12]
The message was authorized byHelmuth Weidling, commander of the Berlin garrison, and led to the German surrender to Chuikov later that day,[13] ending the war for the 79th Guards.[1] For "exemplary performance of command tasks" in the Battle of Berlin, the division received theOrder of Lenin on 28 May. In addition to nineteen Heroes of the Soviet Union, 11,000 soldiers of the division were decorated for their action during the war.[3]
Vagin returned from the hospital to command the 79th Guards in July 1945, and in October of that year they were redesignated as the 20th Guards Mechanized Division atJena, serving with the 8th Guards Army in the Group of Soviet Occupation Forces in Germany (theGroup of Soviet Forces in Germany from 1954); the division remained at Jena for the duration of theCold War. Vagin commanded the division until he was transferred in February 1948.[7] In July 1956 the division became directly subordinated to 8th Guards Army, after the 28th Guards Rifle Corps was disbanded. On 17 May 1957 it became the 27th Guards Tank Division. On 11 January 1965 it became the 79th Guards Tank Division, restoring its World War II numbering.[14] The division remained at Jena until July 1992, when it was withdrawn toSamarkand in theTurkestan Military District. It was quickly disbanded after arrival there.[15][16]
One of the first units to disband, in March 1992, was the 45th Guards Tank Regiment. On February 23, a solemn farewell to the banner of the unit took place in Weimar.[17]
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Guards units marked inbold. | |||||||||
