| 9th Guards Airborne Division(15 December 1942 – 19 June 1945) 116th Guards Rifle Division (19 June 1945 – 1946) 14th Guards Mechanized Division (1946–1957) 14th Guards Motorized Rifle Division(1957–1982) 32nd Guards Tank Division (1982–1989) | |
|---|---|
| Active | 1942–1989 |
| Country | Soviet Union |
| Branch | Red Army /Soviet Army |
| Type | Airborne, Infantry, Mechanized, Tank |
| Size | Division |
| Engagements | |
| Decorations |
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| Battle honours | Poltava |
The32nd Guards Tank Division was a tank formation of theSoviet Army/Soviet Ground Forces. Its predecessor, the9th Guards Airborne Division, was aRed ArmyAirborne division ofWorld War II.[1] On 19 June 1945, it became the 116th Guards Rifle Division.[2] In 1946, it became the 14th Guards Mechanized Division. In 1957, it became the 14th Guards Motorized Rifle Division. In 1982, it became the 32nd Guards Tank Division, which was disbanded in June 1989.[3]
The 9th Guards Airborne Division was formed on 15 December 1942 in theMoscow Military District[4] from the 204th and 211th Airborne Brigades and the 1st Maneuver Airborne Brigade[5] of1st Airborne Corps. In February 1943, it became part of the1st Shock Army. Beginning on 12 March 1943, the division fought in theStaraya Russa Offensive Operation.[5] After the end of the Starayarussa Operation, the division was transferred toReserve of the Supreme High Command (Stavka reserve) and in May was transferred to the5th Guards Army of theSteppe Front.[5] During July and August, the 9th Guards Airborne fought in theBattle of Kursk. They were particularly distinguished during thedefence of Prokhorovka,[6][7] where they repulsed German counterattacks by theLeibstandarte.[8][9] As part of the33rd Guards Rifle Corps, the division participated in theBelgorod-Khar'kov Offensive Operation.[10]
In September 1943, it fought in theChernigov-Poltava Offensive. On 22 September, in conjunction with the95th Rifle Division and the84th Rifle Division, the division crossed theVorskla River and stormed Poltava.[11] For its participation in the capture ofPoltava, the division was given the title "Poltava".[12] At the end of September, the division capturedKremenchuk.[5] On 6 December, the division participated in the capture ofOleksandriia.[5]
On 22 March 1944, the 9th Guards Airborne crossed theSouthern Bug in the area ofIvanovka. It participated in the capture ofPervomaisk and crossed theDniester on the night of 13 April, capturingGrigoriopol. For their actions in the capture of Pervomaisk, the division was awarded theOrder of the Red Banner. During theLvov–Sandomierz Offensive, the division repulsed German counterattacks, although its commanding officer, Ivan Pichugin, was killed on 4 August, in the area ofMielec and defending theSandomierz bridgehead.[5][13] In theSandomierz–Silesian Offensive, the 9th Guards Airborne broke through German defences and on 14 January 1945 crossed theNida. On 21 January it capturedRosenberg and on 24 January crossed theOder.[5] For its actions in Poland, it was awarded theOrder of Suvorov 2nd class on 19 February 1945.
During February and March, the 9th Guards Airborne participated in theLower Silesian Offensive and theUpper Silesian Offensive. On 20 April, during theBerlin Offensive, the division stormedSpremberg. In early May, it repulsed a German counterattack nearSchwepnitz. The 9th Guards Airborne ended the war inPrague. On 4 June, it was awarded theOrder of Kutuzov 2nd class for its actions during the capture ofDresden.
On 13 June, the 9th Guards Airborne Division became the 116th Guards Rifle Division. In 1946, it became the 14th Guards Mechanized Division. On 20 April 1957, it became the 14th Guards Motorized Rifle Division at Juterborg, part of the18th Guards Army. The 236th Guards Motor Rifle Regiment transferred to the82nd Motor Rifle Division in April 1958 and was replaced by that division's 69th Motor Rifle Regiment. In June 1964, the division became part of the20th Guards Army. The division participated inOperation Danube in 1968 as part of the1st Guards Tank Army .[14] The 330th Tank Regiment inherited the honors of the 343rd Guards Tank Regiment in 1975 and became the 343rd Guards Tank Regiment. In 1976, the division became the first GSFG unit to receive the newT-64A tank.[15] On 14 September 1982, it became the 32nd Guards Tank Division. Its 216th Guards Motor Rifle Regiment became the 287th Guards Tank Regiment and the 223rd Guards Motor Rifle Regiment became the 288th Guards Tank Regiment. On 28 August 1988, the 640th Separate Missile Battalion was disbanded and absorbed by the newly formed464th Missile Brigade. In May 1989, the 69th Motor Rifle Regiment transferred to the35th Motor Rifle Division. The 1009th Anti-Aircraft Missile Brigade was also transferred to the47th Guards Tank Division. The division was disbanded in June 1989 after withdrawal fromJüterbog toKrivoy Rog.[3][16]
 Divisions of the Soviet Union 1945–1957 | |||||||||
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| Artillery |
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Guards units marked inbold. | |||||||||
| Divisions of the Soviet Union 1957–1989 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Motor Rifle |
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Guards units marked inbold unless they are in a Guards section. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
