413th Rifle Division (Soviet Union)

rdf:langString 413th Rifle Division (Soviet Union)

rdf:langString 413th Rifle Division (August 6, 1941 – 1946)

rdf:langString Brest

rdf:langString Col. Andrei Nikolaievich Volkov

rdf:langString Col. Fyodor Stepanovich Afanasev

rdf:langString Col. Ivan Vasilevich Mulov

rdf:langString Maj. Gen. Alexei Dmitrievich Tereshkov

rdf:langString Maj. Gen. Ivan Stepanovich Khokhlov

rdf:langString Infantry

rdf:langString Division

rdf:langString The 413th Rifle Division was formed as an infantry division of the Red Army in the summer of 1941 in the Far Eastern Front. It was considered to be a "sister" division to the 415th, and was one of the divisions of Siberians sent west to help defend Moscow during the winter of 1941–42. It was assigned to the 50th Army and originally saw action in the defense of the city of Tula before going over to the counteroffensive in December, suffering massive casualties in the process. It spent much of the next year along the lines it gained over the winter, southwest of the capital, before beginning to push westward as part of Western Front's 1943 summer offensive. During the winter of 1943-44 it was in Belorussian Front (later 1st Belorussian Front) gradually gaining ground towards the Dniepr River to the east of Rogachev. At the start of Operation Bagration the 413th was in the 3rd Army but was soon reassigned to the 65th Army where it remained for most of the rest of the war. The division was awarded a battle honor for its role in the liberation of Brest in July and in 1945 received both the Order of the Red Banner and the Order of Suvorov as it advanced into Poland and Germany with 2nd Belorussian Front. The 413th had a distinguished career as a combat unit, ending its combat path north of Berlin. It was disbanded in the summer of 1946.