13th Guards Rifle Division
| 13th Guards Rifle Division 39th Guards Mechanised Division 13th Guards Tank Division |
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|---|---|
| 13-я Полтавская дважды Краснознаменная гвардейская стрелковая дивизия | |
Flag of the Red Army
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| Active | 1929–1989 |
| Country | Soviet Union |
| Branch | Red Army |
| Type | Infantry |
| Part of | 32nd Guards Rifle Corps, 5th Guards Tank Army, 1st Ukrainian Front, and Southern Group of Forces |
| Engagements |
Soviet invasion of Poland Winter War Battle of Kharkov Battle of Stalingrad Battle of Kursk Operation Bagration Battle of Berlin Battle of Halbe |
| Decorations |
 Order of the Red Banner (2) |
| Battle honours | Poltava |
| Commanders | |
| Notable commanders |
Major General Filipp Alyabushev 1941 (87th Rifle Division) Lieutenant General Alexander Rodimtsev 1941–1943 (both the 87th Rifle Division and the 13th Guards Rifle Division) Major General Gleb Baklanov 1943–44 (13th Guards Rifle Division) Major General Vladimir Komarov 1944–45 (87th Rifle Division) |
The 13th Guards Rifle Division (Russian: 13-я Полтавская дважды Краснознаменная гвардейская стрелковая дивизия) was a Soviet Union Red Army infantry division that served with distinction during the Second World War.
The 13th Guards Rifle Division was formed on 19 January 1942, when the 87th Rifle Division (formed in 1929) was awarded Guards status and re-designated.
The 87th Rifle Division itself had seen action fighting against the Second Polish Republic in the Nazi-Soviet invasion of Poland in 1939. Later that year, the division was sent northwards to Finland to serve as reinforcements in the Winter War against the Finnish defences. As the division was transferred to the Finnish Front, it escaped the fate of many Red Army units during the conflict. After the Soviets conquered the areas demanded from Finland, the unit was transferred to Soviet Ukraine in early 1940.
On 22 June 1941, the German Wehrmacht launched Operation Barbarossa against the Soviet Union from the German–Soviet frontier in occupied Poland. During the opening hours of the German offensive, the 87th Rifle Division, then a part of the 5th Army, engaged in heavy combat with the Germans. At least a portion of the division was encircled during the opening day of the war. Their involvement in heavy fighting seems to have continued as their recently appointed commander, Major General Filipp Alyabushev, was killed in action only three days after the start of the war.
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Wikipedia