| 70th Rifle Division | |
|---|---|
 Red Army insignia | |
| Active |
|
| Country |  Soviet Union |
| Branch | Red Army (Soviet Army from 1946) |
| Type | Infantry |
| Engagements | 1st formation:
2nd formation: |
| Decorations |
|
| Battle honours | Upper Dnieper (2nd formation) |
| Commanders | |
| Notable commanders | Mikhail Kirponos (1st formation) |
The 70th Rifle Division (Russian: 70-я стрелковая дивизия, romanized: 70-ya strelkovaya diviziya) was an infantry division of the Red Army and briefly of the Soviet Army, formed twice.
Formed in 1934 at Samara, the division was transferred to the Leningrad Military District in the late 1930s and fought in the Winter War, receiving the Order of Lenin for its participation in the breakthrough of the Mannerheim Line at the end of the war. After the beginning of Operation Barbarossa on 22 June 1941, the German invasion of the Soviet Union, the division was relocated south and participated in counterattacks against the German advance at Soltsy in early July. After the beginning of the siege of Leningrad the division defended the line of the Neva, capturing the Nevsky Pyatachok during the Sinyavino Offensive of September 1942. For this action it became the 45th Guards Rifle Division in mid-October.
The division was reformed in April 1942 at Kaluga from the 47th and 146th Rifle Brigades. It fought in the Battle of Smolensk in mid-1943, then advanced into eastern Belarus. In mid-1944 the division broke through German defenses during Operation Bagration, advancing towards the Baltic during the Riga Offensive. From late 1944 to the end of the war it fought in East Prussia in the Battle of Memel, the Battle of Königsberg, and the Samland Offensive. Postwar, it performed garrison duty in Pomerania before being disbanded in early 1947.
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