146th Rifle Division
| 146th Rifle Division (16 August 1939 – 27 December 1941) 146th Rifle Division (27 January 1942 – 1946) | |
|---|---|
| Active | 1939–1946 |
| Country | Soviet Union |
| Branch | Red Army |
| Type | Infantry |
| Size | Division |
| Engagements | Operation Barbarossa Battle of Kiev (1941) Battles of Rzhev Battle of Smolensk (1943) Šiauliai Offensive Riga Offensive Vistula-Oder Offensive Battle of Berlin |
| Commanders | |
| Notable commanders | Maj. Gen. Ivan Mikhailovich Gerasimov Col. Aleksandr Nikolaievich Alekseev Lt. Gen. Yury Novoselsky Maj. Gen. Nikolai Ivanovich Orlov Col. Dmitri Arsentovich Dulov Col. Nerses Parsievich Baloyan Maj. Gen. Ivan Mikhailovich Nekrasov Maj. Gen. Sergei Isaevich Karapetyan |
The 146th Rifle Division was formed for the first time as a standard Red Army rifle division in mid-1939, as part of a major build-up of the Army prior to the start of World War II. After the start of the German invasion in 1941 it defended the approaches to Kiev for several months until being surrounded and destroyed in September. A second formation began in January 1942, and the new division spent the following year on a relatively quiet sector before joining the offensives that would drive the German invaders from north-central Russia, Lithuania, and Poland. The 146th ended the war fighting in the streets of Berlin, after compiling an enviable record of service, and saw postwar duty in the Group of Soviet Forces in Germany.