The8th Guards Airborne Division was anairborne division of theRed Army duringWorld War II.^[1] On 27 December 1944, it was renamed the 107th Guards Rifle Division.^[1] It became the 107th Guards Airborne Division on 7 June 1946, before being disbanded in 1959.^[2]

The 8th Guards Airborne Division was formed on 8 December 1942 from the10th Airborne Corps in theMoscow Military District.^[1] The personnel of the airborne division received training in airborne tactics.Major generalAlexander Kapitokhin, commander of the 10th Airborne Corps, became the division's first commander. In February 1943, the division was transferred to theNorthwestern Front, where it became part of the68th Army, fighting in theDemyansk Offensive.^[1]

On 24 April 1943, the division was withdrawn from the front and moved toVoronezh as part of theCentral Front .^[1] At the beginning of May, the division became part of the20th Guards Rifle Corps and from 3 October became part of the21st Guards Rifle Corps. The division fought in the last part of theBattle of Kursk and theChernigov-Poltava Offensive. From the area ofKotelva it advanced to the northwestern part ofPoltava, establishing contact with the5th Guards Army. On the night of 5 October, it crossed theOld Dnieper and crossed theDnieper on the next night, capturing a bridgehead on the right bank near the village of Voronovka.

On 19 October, the division was transferred to the7th Guards Army on theSteppe Front. It fought in defensive battles on theInhulets River during early December. The 8th Guards Airborne took part in battles west ofKirovohrad until March 1944. In March 1944, the division was on the left wing of the2nd Ukrainian Front during theUman–Botoșani Offensive. It advanced towardsKompaniivka. At Semyonovka village, the division reached the left bank of theSouthern Bug. On 22 March, the 22nd and 27th Guards Airborne Regiments, in conjunction with the36th Guards Rifle Division's 108th Guards Rifle Regiment, crossed theSouthern Bug near the village ofMyhiya, seizing a bridgehead at Grushevka village inPervomaisk Raion. Fighting the German106th Infantry Division and282nd Infantry Division, it reached the outskirts ofPervomaisk.

At this time, the 25th Guards Airborne Regiment crossed the Southern Bug in the area north of Semyonovka together with the81st Guards Rifle Division capturing the villages of Romanova Balka, Ivanovka and Sokolovka. These units created a threat to the Germans holding Pervomaisk, which caused them to retreat. For its part in taking the city, the division was awarded the honorary title "Pervomaisk".

On 24 August, the division transferred toKirzhach for resupply. On 27 December 1944, it was reorganized as the 107th Guards Rifle Division. On 8 July 1946, it became airborne again, joining theSoviet Airborne Troops, and was disbanded in 1959.^[2]

• 22nd Guards Airborne Regiment
• 25th Guards Airborne Regiment
• 27th Guards Airborne Regiment
• 9th Guards Airborne Artillery Regiment

• Major GeneralAlexander Kapitokhin (14 December 1942 – 14 June 1943)
• Major GeneralVladimir Stepin (14 June 1943 – 23 August 1943)
• Major GeneralMikhail Andreyevich Bogdanov (25 August 1943 – 26 June 1945)

• Airborne divisions of the Soviet Union
• Military units and formations established in 1942
• Military units and formations disestablished in 1959
• Military units and formations awarded the Order of the Red Banner

• Articles with short description
• Short description matches Wikidata