10th Guards Rifle Division
| 52nd Rifle Division (1935 – Dec. 1941) 10th Guards Rifle Division (Dec. 1941 – 1946) 10th Guards Mountain Division (1946–1962) 10th Guards Motor Rifle Division (1962–1991) |
|
|---|---|
| Active | 1941–1991 |
| Country |
 Soviet Union
|
| Branch |
 Red Army, Soviet Ground Forces
|
| Type | Division |
| Role | Infantry |
| Part of |
Karelian Front 2nd Belorussian Front Transcaucasus Military District |
| Nickname(s) | Honorary title = "Pechengskii" |
| Engagements | 1939: Battle of Petsamo 1941–1944: Arctic Defensive 1944: Petsamo-Kirkenes Operation 1945: East Pomeranian Offensive Chojnice-Kezlinskaya Offensive |
The 10th Guards Motor Rifle Division was a division of the Soviet Ground Forces. The full name of its predecessor division was the 10th Guards Rifle Pechengskii, Twice Order of the Red Banner, Order of Alexander Nevsky, Order of the Red Star Division. (Russian: 10ая гвардейская стрелковая Печенгский, дважды орденом Красного Знамени, орденом Александра Невского, орденом Красной звезда дивизия.) The 10th Guards Rifle Division was formed from the 52nd Rifle Division in late 1941.
In 1939 the 52nd Rifle Division took part in the Soviet invasion of Poland, then during the Winter War in the Battle of Petsamo.
At the outbreak of Operation Barbarossa the division was still in the far north, near Murmansk. As part of 14th Army it defended against the German Mountain Corps Norway's assault towards the port which began on June 19, 1941, and was finally brought to a halt along the Litsa River line on Sept. 21. In recognition of its role in the successful defense of Murmansk, the division was renamed and reorganized as the 10th Guards Rifle Division on Dec. 26, with the following order of battle:
It was one of the few Guards formations formed or deployed by the Red Army in the Arctic during the war.
During the defense the 10th Guards was engaged in 150 fights of local importance. At the end of April, 1942, it began a counterattack which was unsuccessful. The counterattack failed due to severe weather conditions and a strong snowstorm on the previous day. Along with most units of the static Karelian Front, during the next two years the division operated at minimal strength in its rifle units in order to conserve manpower for the main front to the south; however it also formed a divisional ski battalion for rear area security.
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