21st Rifle Division (Soviet Union)
After Operation Barbarossa began on June 22, 1941, the division was sent west in September and fought in the Continuation War against Finland in Karelia.
The 5th Ural Infantry Division was organised during the Russian Civil War on September 3, 1918, out of several smaller partisan detachments in Birsky Uyezd of Perm Governorate.
Soon it was reinforced with a single artillery battery from Sankt Petersburg and two Workers' Brigades from the Arkhangelsk Front.
The division fought in the Eastern Front of the Russian Civil War against the White Army led by Alexander Kolchak.
When the Red counteroffensive began in May, the division fought in the Sarapul–Votkinsk Operation between May 25 and June 12, advancing towards Izhevsk and Votkinsk and reaching the mouth of the Vala River.
In the Chelyabinsk Operation from July 17 to August 4, the division flanked the White Army in the direction of Nizhne-Petropavlovskoye and Peschanskoye.
Between November 20 and December 9, the 1st Brigade fought in the Khopyor–Don Operation against the Armed Forces of South Russia, advancing from the Berezovka area to the Don at its tributaries of Boguchar and Rossosh.
As part of the 9th Army, the division headquarters fought against the Armed Forces of South Russia in the areas of Borisoglebsk, Novokhopyorsk, Kalach, and Boguchar in October and November.
From January 17 to February 6, it fought in the Don–Manych Operation, crossing the Manych River and capturing the surrounding area.
In February 1921 the division was briefly transferred to the Belomorsky Military District in the Arkhangelsk and Vologda area.
Directly subordinated to the assistant to the commander in chief for Siberia, the division fought in the suppression of the rebellion in the areas of Novonikolayevsk (later renamed Novosibirsk), Barnaul, Biysk, and Semipalatinsk.
[10] After the capture of Manzhouli on November 20, the division remained behind as a garrison force, allowing the 18th Rifle Corps to advance to Hailar.
The 21st restored order and basic public services in Manzhouli by November 25, while also distributing propaganda to the civilians.
[11] In 1930, the division was awarded the Honorary Revolutionary Red Banner for its actions in the Russian Civil War[3] and the Sino-Soviet conflict.
Colonel Iosif Dobysh's 63rd Rifle Regiment was moved forward, but by the time it arrived near the border, the Japanese had already withdrawn.
[16] For leading his platoon in repulsing Finnish attacks in early November, 326th Rifle Regiment Sergeant Vasily Poleshchuk was awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union.
Around the same time, like other divisions in the front, it formed a ski battalion for winter patrolling and security duties.
[18] In January 1945 it was transferred to the 26th Army in Hungary, to defend against a German attack across the Leitha in the final stages of the Budapest Offensive.
Surrounded on January 20 in the vicinity of Aba and Jakabszállás, the following day it broke through and reached friendly lines.
