| 194th Motorized Division (September 30, 1939 – May 15, 1940) 194th Mountain Rifle Division (May 15, 1940 – August 26, 1941) 194th Rifle Division (August 26, 1941 - July 1946) | |
|---|---|
| Active | 1939–1946 |
| Country |  Soviet Union |
| Branch | Red Army |
| Type | Infantry |
| Role | Motorized Infantry Mountain Infantry |
| Size | Division |
| Engagements | Winter War Operation Typhoon Battle of Moscow Kaluga Offensive operation Battles of Rzhev Sevsk-Truschevsk offensive Battle of Kursk Operation Suvorov Gomel-Rechitsa Offensive operation Parichi-Bobruisk Offensive operation Operation Bagration Bobruysk offensive Minsk offensive Vistula–Oder offensive East Prussian offensive Heiligenbeil Pocket |
| Decorations |  Order of the Red Banner |
| Battle honours | Rechytsa |
| Commanders | |
| Notable commanders | Col. Ivan Maksimovich Shutov Col. Mikhail Aleksandrovich Siyazov Maj. Gen. Pavel Andreevich Firsov  Col. Sergei Ivanovich Iovlev Maj. Gen. Pavel Prokofevich Opyakin |
The 194th Rifle Division was a Red Army division active from 1939 to 1946 under several designations. It was first formed as a motorized rifle division in the autumn of 1939, part of the first group of such divisions created by the Red Army. After brief service in the war against Finland it was moved to the Central Asian Military District where it was reorganized as a mountain rifle division. It was still in this configuration when the German invasion began on June 22, 1941, and it was soon moved into 49th Army of Reserve Front west of Moscow where it was again reorganized as a regular rifle division, based on the shtat (table of organization and equipment) of September 13, 1939, before seeing any combat. When the final German offensive on Moscow began the 194th was caught flat-footed in the process of being transferred by rail behind the front toward Bryansk. As a result its various subunits became separated as they were forced to disembark at several points along the route. Following this split, a lead group of about 4,500 men took part in the defense of Tula, eventually being incorporated into 50th Army's 258th Rifle Division, while the main body remained in 49th Army, defending in the area of Serpukhov. When the winter counteroffensive began on December 6 the first task assigned to 49th Army was to encircle and destroy the German forces between the Upa and Oka rivers. Subsequently, the 194th advanced on Medyn and Yukhnov before the offensive ground to a halt in early March. The division was on the fringes of the battles for Rzhev during the rest of 1942 but only saw action in battles of local significance. In early 1943 it was moved from Western Front to the new Central Front where it took part in the advance on Sevsk, mostly as part of 65th Army. It remained in this Army until after the battle of Kursk, when it was transferred to 48th Army, where it remained for the duration of the war. After advancing through eastern Ukraine the 194th entered eastern Belarus and spent the winter in battles around and west of Gomel, winning a battle honor in the process. In the wake of the German defeat in Operation Bagration the division was awarded the Order of the Red Banner for its part in the fighting for Slonim. It spent the winter along the Narew River, before taking part in the Vistula-Oder Offensive into Poland and East Prussia in January 1945, mostly as part of 53rd Rifle Corps. The division would be transferred in early February, along with its Army and Corps, to 3rd Belorussian Front, and all three of its rifle regiments would be decorated for their parts in the fighting in East Prussia. After the war the 194th was moved, with 53rd Corps, to the Kirov area, and in 1946 it was redesignated as the 40th Rifle Brigade.