The division completed its formation at Kryvyi Rih in the Odessa Military District and at the time of the German invasion of the Soviet Union was in the same area, assigned to the 35th Rifle Corps.

Following this fiasco the division was moved southwest to join the 36th Rifle Corps which was in 31st Army at the start of the Vistula-Oder Offensive in January 1945.

It the course of the fighting in East Prussia it received a battle honor and a decoration before moving with this Army to the Czechoslovakian border region and ending the war advancing toward Prague.

This officer had previously commanded the 173rd Rifle Division in the Winter War and would be promoted to the rank of major general on 9 November 1941.

[2] As of June 22, 1941 it had the following order of battle: By July 1 the division had been shifted to the 48th Rifle Corps, still in 9th Army which was now part of Southern Front (formerly Odessa Military District).

In November and December the 176th played a prominent role in Southern Front's successful counteroffensive at Rostov-na-Donu and the ensuing winter campaign of 1941–42.

He was killed in an air attack while directing a crossing of the Vistula River on July 30, 1944, and was posthumously made a Hero of the Soviet Union.

In the first weeks of the German offensive the 12th Army was forced back from its positions along the lower Don River and by July 25 the division, now described as "remnants", was helping to hold a 40 km-wide sector from Kiziterinka (20 km southeast of Rostov) eastward to Belianin (50 km southeast of Rostov) opposite the 1st Panzer Army's III Panzer Corps.

The 3rd Panzer Division reached the northern bank of the Terek in the Mozdok region late on August 23 and captured the city two days later.

In two days of see-saw fighting the German force, backed by tanks of the 23rd Panzer Division, managed to secure a bridgehead nearly 3 km deep.

On September 6 a mixed battlegroup from the two panzer divisions with about 40 tanks drove a deep wedge between the 9th and 8th Guards Rifle Brigades, but as it approached the northern foothills of the Terek Mountains it encountered intense artillery, Katyusha and antitank fire as well as heavy counterattacks by Soviet forces, bringing them to a temporary halt.

As a result, the attack of the 5th SS ran straight into this battle group, leading to a fight that lasted most of a week before the assault collapsed in the face of fierce Soviet resistance, with both German divisions suffering heavy casualties, especially from antitank fire.

Kleist blamed the failure on poor internal cohesion within the 5th SS but then on October 3 pleaded with the high command for substantial reinforcements before he could resume his advance.

Meanwhile, the commander of Transcaucasian Front recommended to the STAVKA that his Northern Group of Forces, to which 9th Army belonged at this time, go over to the defensive, which was accepted on September 29.

In the event this was forestalled two days later when the "spent" Germans launched a renewed drive to the southwest and then to the east; this attack was halted at the gates of Ordzhonikidze on November 5.

On November 19 Glagolev took over the 10th Guards Corps and was replaced by Col. Sergei Mikhailovich Bushev who came over from the 10th Rifle Brigade; this officer would be awarded the rank of major general on April 21, 1943, and would lead the 176th for the duration of its 1st formation.

In recognition of its successes in the fighting against 1st Panzer Army near Mozdok and Ordzhonikidze, on December 13 the division, as well as its 300th Artillery Regiment, would each be awarded the Order of the Red Banner.

[22][23] The December 13 attack, aided on the left by the 317th Rifle Division, gained from 4–6 km northward and began what would become a two-day fight for Hill 501.0, but proved to be the Army's only success during this mid-December drive.

The division was relieved overnight on January 1/2, 1943 by the 155th Rifle Brigade and began moving toward Nazran Station, 26 km north of Ordzhonikidze.

[27] In a plan called Operation More (Sea) that was approved by the STAVKA on January 8 the 47th Army, with four rifle divisions and five brigades, supported by armor and artillery, was to penetrate Romanian defenses in the Abinskaya region and capture Krymskaya, then capture the port and city of Novorossiysk and subsequently clear the Taman Peninsula of all Axis forces.

An amphibious group of two reinforced naval rifle brigades would land in the vicinity of Yuzhnaya Ozereyka west of Novorossiysk and take the city with an attack to the northeast.

[30] By the beginning of April most of 18th Army, including the 176th, had occupied the bridgehead called Malaya Zemlya which had been created on February 4 south of Novorossiysk.

The assault was also to be backed with considerable air support and the Kriegsmarine was tasked with interdicting Soviet naval supply lines to the bridgehead.

The attack took place near the boundary of the 176th and the 51st Brigade over terrain that was hilly and heavily wooded, and although it continued for the rest of the day the fierce resistance of the two Red Army units limited its advance to no more than 700m.

The attack gained another 1,000m but the flanks held firm and General Leselidze committed his reserve 8th Guards and 83rd Naval Rifle brigades to stop the advance.

In April this became part of 32nd Army and the brigade remained on the relatively inactive front between Belomorsk and Lake Onega until it was disbanded to help form the new 176th.

It had been formed in October 1941 at Kotelnikovo in the North Caucasus Military District and was moved to the Reserve of the Supreme High Command in December for deployment.

[40] The reformed division's regiments and other subunits were mostly given numbers from among those disbanded early in the war and not yet reformed: Col. Aleksei Grigorevich Kaverin was given command of the division on the day it was formed, but this was relatively short-lived as Col. Vasilii Ivanovich Zolotarev took over on April 19; this officer would be promoted to the rank of major general on April 20, 1945 and remained in command for the duration of the war.

32nd Army began an advance on July 26 in the direction of Ilomantsi, in North Karelia, using the 176th and 289th Rifle Divisions with limited armor and artillery support, despite the fact this was not headed toward any strategic objective.

By this time the STAVKA had apparently decided that achieving a decisive victory against Finland would take more troops and resources than it was willing to spare from the upcoming offensives into Germany.