18th Guards Rifle Division
| 133rd Rifle Division (I Formation) (1939–1942) 18th Guards Rifle Division (1942–1945) 30th Guards Mechanised Division (1945–1965) 18th Guards Motor Rifle Division (1965 – c. 2005–8) |
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|---|---|
| Active | 1939–present |
| Country | Russia |
| Branch | Soviet Ground Forces, Russian Ground Forces |
| Type | Division or brigade |
| Role | Motor Rifle |
| Part of | Baltic Fleet |
| Engagements | East Prussian Offensive |
| Decorations |
 Order of Suvorov 2nd class |
| Battle honours | Insterburg |
| Commanders | |
| Notable commanders |
Grigory Karizhsky |
The 18th Guards Motor Rifle Division was formed originally as 133rd Rifle Division at Novosibirsk or Biysk in 1939. The division was part of 1st Shock Army on 1 December 1941 during the Battle of Moscow. It was redesignated as the 18th Guards Rifle Division in March 1942 with the 51, 53, 58 Guards Rifle Regiments and 52 Guards Artillery Regiment. The division fought in the East Prussian Offensive. The unit became 30th Guards Mechanised Division in 1945 as part of the 11th Guards Army. In 1965 it was renumbered as 18th Guards MRD. It seems to have been stationed in the Kaliningrad enclave with 11th Guards Army before entering Czechoslovakia in 1968, joining the Central Group of Forces.
In 1991 the division was withdrawn back to Gusev in the Kaliningrad Oblast. The division was reorganised as a cadre strength formation, as part of the third-line reserves of the Russian Ground Forces. In 2002, it became the 79th Separate Motor Rifle Brigade (Russian: 79-я отдельная гвардейская мотострелковая бригада).
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