52nd Rifle Division
| 52nd Rifle Division | |
|---|---|
| Active |
|
| Country | |
| Branch |
 Red Army
|
| Type | Division |
| Role | Infantry |
| Engagements |
Russian Civil War Polish-Soviet War Soviet Invasion of Poland Winter War Operation Platinum Fox East Prussian Offensive Battle of Berlin |
| Commanders | |
| Notable commanders |
Stanisław Bobiński Stefan Żbikowski Col. A. Ia. Maksimov |
The 52nd Rifle Division was an infantry division of the Red Army during the Russian Civil War, the interwar period, World War II, and the Cold War, formed once during the Russian Civil War and three times during the existence of the Soviet Union.
The Western Rifle Division (Polish: Zachodnia Dywizja Strzelców) was formed during the Russian Civil War, and later redesignated the 52nd Rifle Division. It was reduced to a brigade and disbanded after the end of the Russian Civil War in 1921. The first formation of the 52nd during the existence of the Soviet Union occurred during the interwar period in 1935. After the first formation of the division was promoted to Guards status as the 10th Guards Rifle Division during World War II in late December, 1941, a second formation of the division fought on for the duration in several Fronts. The second formation was disbanded in 1946 after the end of the war. A third formation of the division was formed by renumbering the 315th Rifle Division in 1955 during the Cold War, becoming a motor rifle division in 1957.
The Western Division was formed in August 1918 in the area of Moscow and Tambov at the initiative of Social Democracy of the Kingdom of Poland and Lithuania (SDKPiL) and the Polish Socialist Party-Left (PPS-Lewica), part of the Moscow Military District. A Polish communist regiment, the Red Regiment of Revolutionary Warsaw (Czerwony Pułk Rewolucyjnej Warszawy) made up its cadre, and in the beginning it was mostly composed of Polish volunteers. According to its order of battle (below) each of its brigades consisted of two battalions of infantry and one battalion of cavalry.
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