118th Guards Rifle Division
| 118th Guards Rifle Division | |
|---|---|
| Active | 1945-1946; 1950-1956 |
| Country |
.svg.png){kind=small} Soviet Union |
| Branch |
 Red Army |
| Type | Division |
| Role | Infantry |
| Garrison/HQ | Parnu |
| Decorations |
 Order of the Red Banner |
| Battle honours | Tallinn |
| Commanders | |
| Notable commanders | Mjr. Gen. Karl Allikas |
The 118th Guards Rifle Division was formed on June 28, 1945, from the re-designated 7th Estonian Rifle Division. On the same date the entire 8th Estonian Rifle Corps was raised to Guards status as the 41st Guards Rifle Corps. On its formation the 118th Guards inherited the honorific title and decoration of the 7th, with its full title being 118th Guards Rifle Estonian, Tallinn, Order of the Red Banner Division.[1][2]
This re-designation took place nearly two months after V-E Day, but before the Soviet invasion of Manchuria, so technically the 118th Guards can be considered a wartime formation, although it did not see combat in Manchuria.
The division was downsized into the 22nd Guards Separate Rifle Brigade in 1946. It was based at Pärnu. [3]
The division was reformed from the 22nd Guards Separate Rifle Brigade in 1950, and served until 1956 with 4th Guards Rifle Corps (the 10th Guards Army previously), before being disbanded again on 7 July 1956 at Tallinn.[4]
References
- ↑ Charles C. Sharp, "Red Guards", Soviet Order of Battle World War II, Vol. IV, Nafziger, 1995, p 88
- ↑ Feskov et al 2013, p. 147
- ↑ Feskov et al 2013, p. 149
- ↑ Holm, Michael. "10th Guards Combined Arms Army". www.ww2.dk. Retrieved 2016-03-09. and Feskov et al 2013, p. 152
- Feskov, V.I.; Golikov, V.I.; Kalashnikov, K.A.; Slugin, S.A. (2013). Вооруженные силы СССР после Второй Мировой войны: от Красной Армии к Советской [The Armed Forces of the USSR after World War II: From the Red Army to the Soviet] (in Russian). 1 Land Forces. Tomsk. ISBN 9785895035306.
