List of Soviet divisions 1917–45


The Soviet Union's Red Army raised divisions during the Russian Civil War, and again during the interwar period from 1926. Few of the Civil War divisions were retained into this period, and even fewer survived the reorganization of the Red Army during the 1937–1941 period. During the Second World War 400 'line' rifle divisions, 129 Soviet Guards rifle divisions, and over 50 cavalry divisions as well as many divisions of other combat support arms were raised in addition to the hundreds of divisions that existed in the Red Army before Operation Barbarossa. Almost all the pre-war mechanized and tank divisions were disbanded during the war. There were also Red Air Force aviation divisions, and the NKVD divisions which also took part in fighting.
The territorial principle of manning the Red Army was introduced in the mid-1920s. In each region able-bodied men were called up for a limited period of active duty in a territorial unit, which comprised about half the Army's strength, each year, for five years. The first call-up period was for three months, with one month a year thereafter. A regular cadre provided a stable nucleus. By 1925 this system provided 46 of the 77 infantry divisions and one of the eleven cavalry divisions. The remainder consisted of regular officers and enlisted personnel serving two-year stints. The territorial system was finally abolished, with all remaining formations converted to the other 'cadre' divisions, in 1937 and 1938.
The Red Army formed at least 42 divisions during the Second World War which had substantial ethnic majorities in their composition derived from location of initial formation rather than intentional "nationalization" of the divisions, including four Azeri, five Armenian, and eight Georgian rifle divisions and a large number of cavalry divisions in the eastern Ukraine, Kuban region, and Central Asia, including five Uzbek cavalry divisions. See :ru:Национальные воинские подразделения РККА.

Rifle and Guards Rifle Divisions

Airborne Divisions

At the end of the Second World War most of the remaining Guards Airborne Divisions were redesignated Guards Rifle Divisions. At the end of June 1945 this has happened to the 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, and 9th, which became respectively the 111, 112, 113, 115, and 116th Guards Rifle Divisions. In November, it happened to the 1st, 3rd, and 10th Airborne Divisions, which became the 124th, 125th, and 126th Guards Rifle Divisions.
Not intended for front line combat, NKVD Internal Troops were used to guard borders, secure railways, and combat elements such as the Ukrainian Insurgent Army that posed threats to the rear areas and supply convoys of the Red Army. Notwithstanding the original intent of these units, many saw at least some front line combat, several were converted to regular divisions of the Red Army, and others were grouped into a field NKVD army that was later re-numbered as the 70th Army. There were different types of divisions: Rifle Division, Railroad Security Division, Special Installation Security Division, and Convoy Forces Security Division.
This list is primarily drawn from David Glantz, Companion To Colossus Reborn: Key Documents And Statistics, University Press of Kansas, 2005.
Cavalry divisions in the Red Army were first formed in the early days of the Russian Civil War. The Red cavalry played a key role in the war, as the relatively small size of the forces involved and the large open spaces were ideal for mobile cavalry operations. 27 cavalry divisions were formed during the war, of which all but eleven were disbanded after the end of the war in 1921. The Red Army's cavalry forces was gradually expanded during the interwar period, reaching a peak in 1936, when the Red Army included 36 cavalry divisions. However, the increasing demand for mechanized units resulted in drastic reductions in the Red Army cavalry force during the last few years before the German invasion of the Soviet Union in June 1941.
At the time of the German invasion, there were nine regular cavalry divisions and four mountain cavalry divisions in the Red Army. The rapid destruction of Soviet mechanized forces in the summer and autumn of 1941 resulted in a rapid expansion of cavalry units to provide the Red Army a mobile, if not armored, force. This expansion produced some 87 new cavalry divisions by early 1942, many of which were later disbanded as the Red Army rebuilt its tank and mechanized formations. 17 of the cavalry divisions were granted Guards status and renumbered accordingly. At the start of the conflict, a cavalry division had some 9,000 men; by 1945, they were authorized 6,000 men and often organized into corps of three divisions that were reinforced by artillery, tank, and assault gun elements.
After the end of World War II, the remaining 26 cavalry divisions were mostly converted into mechanized and tank units or disbanded. The last cavalry divisions were not disbanded until the early 1950s, with the last cavalry division, the 4th Guards Cavalry Division, being disbanded in April 1955.
The Red Army tank divisions of the Great Patriotic War were short-lived. In the face of the German invasion of 1941, many poorly maintained vehicles were abandoned, and those that did meet the Germans in battle were defeated by the superior training, doctrine, and radio communications of the Panzertruppe. The magnitude of the defeat was so great that the mechanized corps parent headquarters of the tank divisions were either inactivated or destroyed by July 1941. Most of the tank divisions facing the Germans had met a similar fate by the end of 1941. The Soviets opted to organize more easily controlled tank brigades instead, eventually combining many of these into three-brigade tank corps in 1942, an organizational structure that served them until the end of the war. Until late in the war, two tank divisions remained in the Far East, serving in the Transbaikal Military District.
All Guards Rocket Artillery Divisions were disbanded between August and September 1945.
See Aviation Division for Soviet Air Forces divisions and Soviet Naval Aviation for naval aviation divisions

Divisions Disbanded 1945–89