| 56th Guards Rifle Division (June 4, 1943 – 1947) | |
|---|---|
| Active | 1943–1947 |
| Country |  Soviet Union |
| Branch | .svg){kind=small} Red Army |
| Type | Division |
| Role | Infantry |
| Engagements | Battle of Smolensk (1943) Orsha Offensives (1943) Battle of Nevel (1943) Pskov-Ostrov Offensive Baltic Offensive Riga Offensive (1944) Courland Pocket |
| Decorations |  Order of the Red Banner |
| Battle honours | Smolensk |
| Commanders | |
| Notable commanders | Maj. Gen. Anatolii Ivanovich Kolobutin Col. Fyodor Pavlovich Boyko Col. Ivan Filatovich Krovyakov |
The 56th Guards Rifle Division was formed as an elite infantry division of the Red Army in June 1943, based on the 2nd formations of the 74th and 91st Rifle Brigades, and served in that role until after the end of the Great Patriotic War. Along with its "sister", the 65th Guards Rifle Division, the 56th was formed "out of sequence", that is, many Guards rifle divisions were higher numbered and formed earlier than the 56th. The division was immediately assigned to the 19th Guards Rifle Corps of the 10th Guards Army and remained under those headquarters for the duration of the war. It first saw action in Western Front's summer offensive, Operation Suvorov. On September 8 the 254th Guards Rifle Regiment was given the honorific title "in the name of Aleksandr Matrosov" and on September 25 the division as a whole was awarded the honorific "Smolensk" for its role in the liberation of that city. During the winter of 1943-44 it took part in the stubborn fighting north and east of Vitebsk, first in Western and later in 2nd Baltic Front. During the following summer offensives it helped break through the defenses of the German Panther Line and advanced into the Baltic states, eventually being decorated with the Order of the Red Banner after the liberation of Riga. For the rest of the war it was part of the forces blockading the remnants of German Army Group North in the Courland Pocket in Latvia, eventually in Leningrad Front. After the war the 56th Guards was moved to the town of Elva in Estonia where it was disbanded in 1947, although the successor formations of the 254th Guards Regiment exist into the present day.