4th Rifle Division (Soviet Union)
| 4th Rifle Division | |
|---|---|
| Active | 1921–1942; 1943–1945; 1955–1957 |
| Country | Soviet Union |
| Branch | Red Army |
| Type | Infantry |
| Engagements | Russian Civil War |
| Decorations | Order of the Red Banner (3rd formation) Order of Suvorov 2nd class (2nd formation) |
| Battle honours | Smolensk (1st formation) On behalf of the German Proletariat (1st formation) |
| Commanders | |
| Notable commanders | Ivan Rosly Vladimir Stenin |
The 4th Rifle Division was an infantry division of the Soviet Union's Red Army, formed three times. It was first formed in 1919 from the remnants of the Lithuanian Rifle Division and fought in the Defence of Petrograd during the Russian Civil War. The division then fought in the Polish–Soviet War.
In 1939, the division fought in the Soviet invasion of Poland. It fought in the Winter War from December 1939 and suffered heavy losses in the Battle of Kelja. After Operation Barbarossa, the division fought in the Barvinkove-Losowaja Operation and the 1942 Battle of Voronezh. It suffered heavy losses at Voronezh and was disbanded in November 1942.
The division re-formed in 1943 and fought in the Bryansk Offensive, Gomel-Rechitsa Offensive, Lublin–Brest Offensive, Warsaw-Poznan Offensive and Berlin Offensive. It was disbanded in the summer of 1945. The division was re-formed a third time from the 160th Rifle Division and inherited that division's honorifics and awards. It became the 4th Motor Rifle Division in 1957 and disbanded in 1959.