58th Guards Rifle Division
The 58th Guards Rifle Division (Russian: 58-я гвардейская стрелковая дивизия) was an infantry division of the Red Army during World War II.
Formation and Operation Little Saturn
The division was formed on 31 December 1942 by the redesignation of the 1st Rifle Division (1st formation) into an elite Guards unit in recognition of its courage in the initial stages of Operation Little Saturn.[1]
Advance to the Elbe
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Elements of the division made contact with the American 69th Infantry Division at Torgau on the Elbe River on 25 April 1945, splitting the Third Reich into two separate parts, an event that became known as Elbe Day.[2] The first contact was made between patrols near Strehla, when U.S. First Lieutenant Albert Kotzebue crossed the River Elbe in a boat with three men of an intelligence and reconnaissance platoon. On the east bank, they met forward elements of the 175th Guards Rifle Regiment of the division, under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Gardiev.[3]
Postwar
The division was disbanded in June 1946, along with the rest of the 33rd Guards Rifle Corps, still with the Central Group of Forces.[4]
References
Citations
- ^ Ogarkov 1977, pp. 427–428.
- ^ "Defeat and liberation – the meeting on the Elbe". en.stsg.de. Stiftung Sächsische Gedenkstätten zur Erinnerung an die Opfer politischer Gewaltherrschaft. Retrieved 2016-07-06.
- ^ MacDonald 1973, pp. 445–458.
- ^ Antonyuk & Andreyev 1946, p. 1.
Bibliography
- Antonyuk; Andreyev (1946). "Перечень расформированных частей и соединений центральной группы войск на которых нет учетных документов по безвозвратным потерям" [List of disbanded units and formations of the Central group of forces for which there are no records for irretrievable losses] (in Russian). Archived from the original on 14 June 2019. Retrieved 14 June 2019.
{{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|dead-url=(help); Invalid|ref=harv(help) - MacDonald, Charles B. (1973). The Last Offensive. United States Army in World War II: European Theater of Operations. Washington, D.C.: Office of the Chief of Military History. OCLC 963582.
{{cite book}}: Invalid|ref=harv(help) - Ogarkov, Nikolai, ed. (1977). "Красноградско-Пражская стрелковая дивизия" [Krasnograd–Prague Rifle Division]. Советская военная энциклопедия [Soviet Military Encyclopedia] (in Russian). Vol. 4. Moscow: Voenizdat. pp. 427–428.
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