345th Rifle Division (September 9, 1941 – July 17, 1942) 345th Rifle Division (March 13, 1945 – 1946) | |
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Active | 1941–1946 |
Country | ![]() |
Branch | ![]() |
Type | Division |
Role | Infantry |
Engagements | Crimean Campaign Siege of Sevastopol (1941–42) Soviet invasion of Manchuria Proposed Soviet invasion of Hokkaido |
Commanders | |
Notable commanders | Col. Nikolai Olimpievich Guz Col. Vasilii Vasilievich Pyankov |
The 345th Rifle Division began forming in September, 1941, as a standard Red Army rifle division, at Makhachkala on the Caspian Sea. Its first formation served exclusively in the southernmost parts of the Soviet-German front, specifically in the Caucasus and Crimea. It arrived at Sevastopol in December, and fought stubbornly in defense of the fortress-port until mid-July, 1942, when the city capitulated and the division was destroyed. In March, 1945, a new 345th was formed in the Far East, and a few months later took part in the Soviet invasion of Manchuria in August, but as it was in a reserve formation it saw little, if any, actual combat.
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