55th Rifle Division (Soviet Union)

55th Rifle Division (September, 1925 – October 1, 1941) 55th Rifle Division (December 12, 1941 – October 7, 1944)
Colonel K.M. Andrusenko, Hero of the Soviet Union
Active	1925–1944
Country	Soviet Union
Branch	Red Army
Type	Division
Role	Infantry
Engagements	Operation Barbarossa Battle of Kiev (1941) Demyansk Pocket Battle of Kursk Battle of Smolensk (1943) Battle of the Dnieper Operation Bagration Riga Offensive
Decorations	Order of the Red Banner
Battle honours	Mozyr
Commanders
Notable commanders	Col. G.A. Ter-Gasparyan Maj. Gen. I.P. Shevchuk Col. N.N. Zaiulev Col. Kornei Andrusenko

The 55th Rifle Division that served as a Red Army rifle division during the Great Patriotic War formed for the first time in September, 1925 as a territorial division headquartered at Kursk. When the German invasion began the unit was as Slutsk, but soon came under attack from their armored spearheads and lost most of its strength within days, and was eventually encircled and destroyed at Kiev. A new division was formed along the Volga in December, and was soon sent north to join in the fighting around Demyansk until early 1943. In many respects the 55th was a hard-luck unit; after being destroyed once, it drew assignments to mostly secondary fronts in areas where, due to the terrain and other circumstances, no unit could distinguish itself. By early 1944, the division was reduced to minimal strength for an active formation, and after doing its best in Operation Bagration it was transferred north to the Baltic States and then disbanded to provide replacements for the other units in 61st Army. Elements of the disbanded division were repurposed to other roles in coastal defense and as a naval base garrison, continuing in service until 1956.

A 55th Rifle Division was formed during the Russian Civil War at Petrograd in July, 1919, but it was dissolved after the war. The unit that eventually fought in World War II began forming as a territorial (reserve) division in the Moscow Military District in September, 1925. Its order of battle was as follows:

Due to its deployment, the division was known as the "Kursk" division from its beginning. At some point it also gained the distinction "in the name of K.Ye. Voroshilov". It was subordinated to the 10th Rifle Corps.

In 1939 the division was part of the pre-war scrambling of the orders of battle of the Red Army, following which the OoB was as follows:

Following the Soviet invasion of Poland in September most of the division was assigned as the garrison of the Brest Fortress, while the remainder was stationed at Zhabinka. At the end of 1940 the division was relocated to Slutsk, and reassigned from 28th Rifle Corps to 47th Rifle Corps, where it remained in the reserves of Western Special Military District until the start of the German invasion. It was luckier than the divisions on the border, but was under orders to join 4th Army there in the event of war. In the event, the war came to the 55th, in the form of 2nd Panzer Group, within a week, chasing the remnants of the rest of 4th Army. The division's commander, Colonel D.I. Ivanyuk, was killed on June 25, and succeeded by his deputy, Lt. Colonel G.A. Ter-Gasparyan, who was confirmed in command on July 14 and promoted to colonel.