395th Rifle Division

395th Rifle Division (6 October 1941 – 1945)
Active	1941 - 1945
Country	Soviet Union
Branch	Red Army
Type	Division
Role	Infantry
Engagements	Battle of Rostov (1941) Mius-Front Battle of the Caucasus Novorossiysk-Taman Operation Battle of the Dniepr Battle of Kiev (1943) Dnieper–Carpathian Offensive Zhitomir–Berdichev Offensive Kamenets-Podolsky Pocket Lvov–Sandomierz Offensive Vistula-Oder Offensive Lower Silesian Offensive Battle of the Oder–Neisse Berlin Strategic Offensive Prague Offensive
Decorations	Order of the Red Banner  Order of Suvorov
Battle honours	Taman
Commanders
Notable commanders	Maj. Gen. Anatoly Petrakovsky Maj. Gen. Sabir Umar-Ogly Rakhimov Maj. Gen. Adam Petrovich Turchinskii Maj. Gen. Aleksandr Vasilevich Vorozhishchev Maj. Gen. Pavel Fedoseevich Ilinykh Col. Fyodor Aleksandrovich Afanasev

The 395th Rifle Division was converted from a militia division to a regular infantry division of the Red Army in October 1941. From 1941-45, it fought against the German invasion, Operation Barbarossa. As a militia unit it was under command of the Kharkov Military District and designated as the Voroshilovgrad Militia Division, although it was unofficially known as the 395th before it was converted. It took part in the fighting near Rostov-on-Don during the winter of 1941–42 in the 18th Army, and retreated with that Army into the northern Caucasus mountains in the face of the German summer offensive, fighting under the command of the 18th and 12th Armies, then in the 56th Army in October. As the Axis forces retreated from the Caucasus in early 1943 it was sent to the 46th and later to the 37th Army of North Caucasus Front. During the battles that cleared the German forces from the Taman peninsula from August to October the 395th was back in 56th Army and was awarded a battle honor for its part in the campaign. By the end of 1943 it had returned to 18th Army, now under 1st Ukrainian Front near Kyiv. In January 1944 the division was decorated with both the Order of the Red Banner and the Order of Suvorov. With its Front it advanced through western Ukraine, Poland and eastern Germany, finally taking part in the Lower Silesian, Berlin, and Prague offensives in early 1945 as part of 13th Army.