63rd Mountain Rifle Division
Military unit / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The 63rd Mountain Rifle Division was formed as a specialized infantry division of the Red Army in July 1936, based on the 2nd Georgian Mountain Division. When the German invasion of the Soviet Union began it was in the Transcaucasus Military District and was soon assigned to the 47th Army for the invasion of Iran. Following this it was moved to the western Caucasus region where it joined the 44th Army of Crimean Front for amphibious operations against the Axis forces in the Crimea. In late December 1941 it landed at Feodosia as part of 9th Rifle Corps. Along with the remainder of the Corps the 63rd Mountain hindered but failed to block the retreat of Axis forces from Kerch, where the 51st Army had also made landings. After a German counteroffensive retook Feodosia in mid-January 1942 the division fell back to the Parpach Isthmus where it took part in trench warfare near the Black Sea coast into the spring, gradually losing strength. On May 8 it was caught up in the opening stage of Operation "Bustard Hunt" (Trappenjagd) and in a few hours was overwhelmed and largely destroyed by German air and artillery bombardment in support of infantry and armor attacks. Less than a week later it was stricken from the Red Army's order of battle and was never rebuilt.
63rd Mountain Rifle Division | |
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Active | 1936–1942 |
Country | Soviet Union |
Branch | Red Army |
Type | Division |
Role | Mountain Infantry |
Engagements | Anglo-Soviet invasion of Iran Battle of the Kerch Peninsula |
Decorations | Order of the Red Star |
Battle honours | In the name of M. V. Frunze |
Commanders | |
Notable commanders | Maj. Gen. Aleksandr Markovich Krupnikov Col. Semyon Georgievich Zakiyan Lt. Col. Pyotr Yakovlevich Tsindzenevskii Col. Matvei Vasilevich Vinogradov |