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140th Rifle Division (Soviet Union)

140th Rifle Division
Active 16 August 1939 – 1946
Country  Soviet Union
Branch Red Army flag.svg Red Army
Type Division
Role Infantry
Engagements Operation Barbarossa
Operation Typhoon
Operation Blue
Battle of Kursk
Operation Kutuzov
Battle of the Dnieper
Battle of Kiev (1943)
Lvov-Sandomierz Offensive
Vistula-Oder Offensive
Prague Offensive
Commanders
Notable
commanders
Mjr. Gen. M.A. Enshin
Hero of the Soviet Union medal.pngMjr. Gen. A.Ya. Kiselyov
Col. M.M. Vlasov

The 140th Rifle Division was a Red Army rifle division of the Great Patriotic War. Originally formed before the War, the 140th might be regarded as the unluckiest division in the Army, as it had to be completely, or almost completely, re-formed three times between 1941 and 1943. In spite of this, the fourth formation of the 140th went on to have a distinguished record in combat, a testament to the resiliency of the Red Army in World War II.

The division was first organized on Aug. 16, 1939 at Uman in the Ukrainian (later: Kiev Special) Military District. On June 22, 1941, it was still in that District, and comprised:

When the German invasion began, the 140th was assigned to the 36th Rifle Corps in Kiev District reserves, and by June 27 it was in 6th Army, fighting off German armor. By late July it was in 49th Rifle Corps in that same army then it was relocated to South Front. In early August the division was trapped in the encirclement at Uman, and was destroyed by the middle of the month. The division number was finally deleted from the Soviet order of battle on Sept. 19.

The division was reformed on 26 September from the 13th Moscow Militia Division with:

The 13th Militia (Opolchenie) Division reported 8,010 men on hand in mid-July, including 1,700 members of the Communist Party or Komsomols. The division spent most of August and September with the 32nd Army in Reserve Front, training and probably being reinforced. It made little difference in October, when the division was encircled near Lozino, northwest of Vitebsk during Operation Typhoon and largely destroyed by mid-month, although it was not officially disbanded until 27 December. Enough personnel escaped the encirclement to make a cadre for the next formation of the division.

The third formation of the 140th Rifle Division began in late December, based on escaped elements of the previous division. The order of battle reverted to that of the first formation, except the howitzer regiment was no longer present, and the 309th was now a standard artillery regiment. A new divisional commander was not appointed until late January, 1942, and the unit remained in the Moscow Military District until May. In late May the 140th was transferred to the 24th Army in STAVKA reserves and sent south. 24th Army arrived in Southern Front just at the opening of the German summer offensive, Operation Blue, in June. In early July the division was transferred to the reserves of 9th Army. Retreating across the open steppes with the First Panzer Army in pursuit, the 140th was caught up in the encirclement south of Millerovo and effectively destroyed by the third week of July. It is listed as "reorganizing" in the Caucasus Region on 1 August, but this was abandoned and the division was officially disbanded on 19 August.


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