49th Guards Rifle Division


The 49th Guards Rifle Division was an infantry division of the Red Army. The division was formed in October 1942 from the 2nd Guards Motor Rifle Division.

Formation

The 49th Guards Rifle Division was formed in the Western Front reserves near Moscow on 13 October 1942 from the remains of the 2nd Guards Motor Rifle Division. The unit was immediately assigned to the newly formed 13th Guards Rifle Corps in the 2nd Guards Army. They were sent south to the Stalingrad area in December 1942 and went into action south of Stalingrad.
When formed, its order of battle was as follows:
Later the division helped liberate Kherson. It took part in the liberation of Romania and Hungary.
The division ended the war in Austria. By this time the division had the following honorifics: Khersonskaya, Order of the Red Banner, Order of Suvorov 2nd Class.

Postwar

After the end of the war the division became a part of the Southern Group of Forces, being reorganised as the 33rd Guards Mechanised Division. In September 1949 the 33rd Guards Mechanized Division arrived in Timișoara from the Odessa Military District, becoming part of the Special Mechanized Army. The 33rd Guards Mechanized Division was detached to the Special Corps and fought in Operation Whirlwind, the suppression of the Hungarian Revolution of 1956. After the end of the operation, the division became part of the newly reformed Southern Group of Forces. On 4 June 1957, the division became the 33rd Guards Motor Rifle Division. The division was based at Győr with the 38th Army. In 1958 it moved to Kishinev and became part of the 14th Army. The division was disbanded there on 8 October 1960.

Commanders