Active 1943–1991 Branch Red Army Role Infantry | Country Soviet Union Type Division | |
 | ||
Engagements World War II
Battle of Kursk
Operation Kutuzov
Lvov–Sandomierz Offensive
Operation Whirlwind | ||
The 70th Guards Rifle Division was an infantry division of the Red Army and Soviet Army. It was formed after the Battle of Stalingrad from the 138th Rifle Division in recognition of that division's actions during the battle. The 70th Guards continued a record of distinguished service through the rest of the Great Patriotic War, and continued to serve postwar, as a motor rifle division, until being finally disbanded in 1991.
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Formation
The 70th Guards was one of several Guards rifle divisions created in the aftermath of the fighting for Stalingrad, on Feb. 6, 1943. It was formed from the remnants of the 138th Rifle Division, in recognition of that division's stalwart defense against the German Sixth Army in the Battle of Stalingrad, in particular the Barricades (Barrikady) ordnance factory. When formed, its order of battle was as follows:
The division spent February and March rebuilding, before being sent north in April to 17th Guards Rifle Corps in Central Front reserves north of Kursk.
Battle of Kursk
The 70th Guards was soon moved into 13th Army which held most of the north shoulder of the Kursk salient. The division defended part of the Olkhovatka sector. When the Germans launched Operation Citadel on July 5, the division faced elements of two panzer corps of German Ninth Army. Reinforced with over 50 tanks and self-propelled guns (SU-122s of the 1441st SU Regiment), 72 antitank guns, and 80 heavy guns, mortars and rocket launchers, the division stopped the German attacks literally in their tracks, with German losses of up to 50 tanks a day. On 6 July the division stopped the advance of the XXXXVII Panzer Corps. On 8 July the 4th Panzer Division broke through at the junction of the 70th Guards with the 75th Guards Rifle Division, but was repulsed after heavy fighting. On July 21 the division was awarded the Order of Lenin. Five gunners or battery commanders of the 137th Guards Artillery Regiment, who fought off German tanks over open sights at point-blank range, became Heroes of the Soviet Union, and the regiment as a whole was awarded the Order of the Red Banner.
Operation Kutuzov
Following the German defeat, the 70th Guards joined in the advance out of the Kursk salient. On Aug. 30 the division, backed by the 23rd and 95th Tank Brigades and the 1454th Self-propelled Artillery Regiment, was credited with the liberation of the Ukrainian town of Glukhov (Hlukhiv, in Ukrainian) and got the town's name as an honorific. In October the division was reassigned to the 38th Army for the rest of the war, first in the 1st Ukrainian and later the 4th Ukrainian Front.
Lvov–Sandomierz Offensive
During the Lvov-Sandomierz operation in July, 1944, the 70th Guards was temporarily motorized with the 26th Truck Brigade to exploit the breakthrough of the German lines. It was one of the first rifle divisions to have its towed antitank battalion replaced with a battalion of 12 SU-76 assault guns, becoming the 74th Guards SU Battalion, in late 1944. 38th Army was moved to 4th Ukrainian Front, and in 101st Rifle Corps the 70th Guards fought through the Carpathian Mountains into Czechoslovakia in early 1945. The division ended the war near Prague. Its full title at this time was 70th Guards Rifle Glukhov, Order of Lenin, twice Order of the Red Banner, Order of Suvorov, Order of Kutuzov, Order of Bogdan Khmelnitsky Division. (Russian: Глухов, орденом Ленина, дважды орденом Красного Знамени, орденом Суворова, орденом Кутузова, орденом Богдана Хмельницкого.)
Postwar
The division was withdrawn with its corps to the Carpathian Military District and was based at Stanislav (later Ivano-Frankivsk) postwar. After the 101st Rifle Corps was disbanded the division became part of the 35th Guards Rifle Corps. The 70th Guards Rifle Division was attached to the 8th Tank Army during Operation Whirlwind in November 1956. The 70th Guards Rifle was redesignated the 70th Guards Motor Rifle Division on 25 June 1957 and directly subordinated to the 38th Army. The 207th Guards Motor Rifle Regiment, 104th Guards Tank Regiment, the 137th Guards Artillery Regiment, and the 1159th Anti-Aircraft Rocket Regiment were at Kolomyia. The 203rd Guards Motor Rifle Regiment was at Nadvirna, and the 205th Guards Motor Rifle Regiment was at Ivano-Frankivsk. In January 1991 the division became the 857th Military Equipment Storage Base, and in the next month was taken over by Ukraine.