118th Guards Rifle Division

The 118th Guards Rifle Division was an infantry division of the Soviet Army. It was formed in June 1945 from the 7th Estonian Rifle Division. The division became a brigade in 1946 and became a division again in 1950. It was disbanded in 1956.

118th Guards Rifle Division
Active1945–1946; 1950–1956
Country Soviet Union
Branch Red Army
TypeDivision
RoleInfantry
Garrison/HQPärnu
DecorationsOrder of the Red Banner
Battle honoursTallinn
Commanders
Notable
commanders		Mjr. Gen. Karl Allikas

History

The 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] The division was commanded by Major General Karl Allikas, the commander of the 7th Estonian Rifle Division.[3]

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. [4]

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.[5]

References
  1. Charles C. Sharp, "Red Guards", Soviet Order of Battle World War II, Vol. IV, Nafziger, 1995, p 88
  2. Feskov et al 2013, p. 147
  3. "Biography of Major-General Karl Adamovich Allikas - (Карл Адамович Алликас) (1905 – 1976), Soviet Union". www.generals.dk. Retrieved 2016-07-31.
  4. Feskov et al 2013, p. 149
  5. 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: Part 1 Land Forces] (in Russian). Tomsk: Scientific and Technical Literature Publishing. ISBN 9785895035306.
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