345th Rifle Division (Soviet Union)

345th Rifle Division (September 9, 1941 – July 17, 1942) 345th Rifle Division (March 13, 1945 – 1946)
Active	1941–1946
Country	Soviet Union
Branch	Red Army
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.