8th Guards Airborne Division
| 8th Guards Airborne Division (8 Dec 1942-27 Dec 1944) 107th Guards Rifle Division (27 Dec 1944-6 Jul 1946) |
|
|---|---|
| Active | 1942–1959 |
| Country | Soviet Union |
| Branch | Red Army |
| Type | Airborne/Infantry |
| Size | Division |
| Engagements | |
| Decorations |
 Order of Kutuzov 2nd class |
| Battle honours | Pervomaisk |
107th Guards Rifle Division (27 Dec 1944-6 Jul 1946)
The 8th Guards Airborne Division was an airborne division of the Red Army during World War II. On 27 December 1944, it was renamed the 107th Guards Rifle Division. It became the 107th Guards Airborne Division on 7 June 1946, before being disbanded in 1959.
The 8th Guards Airborne Division was formed on 8 December 1942 from the 10th Airborne Corps in the Moscow Military District. The personnel of the airborne division received training in airborne tactics.Major general Alexander Kapitokhin, commander of the 10th Airborne Corps, became the division's first commander. In February 1943, the division was transferred to the Northwestern Front, where it became part of the 68th Army, fighting in the Demyansk Offensive.
On 24 April 1943, the division was withdrawn from the front and moved to Voronezh as part of the Central Front . At the beginning of May, the division became part of the 20th Guards Rifle Corps and from 3 October became part of the 21st Guards Rifle Corps. The division fought in the last part of the Battle of Kursk and the Chernigov-Poltava Offensive. From the area of Kotelva it advanced to the northwestern part of Poltava, establishing contact with the 5th Guards Army. On the night of 5 October, it crossed the Old Dnieper and crossed the Dnieper on the next night, capturing a bridgehead on the right bank near the village of Voronovka.
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