The 79th Motor Rifle Division was a motorized infantry division of the Soviet Army. It was converted from the 79th Rifle Division in 1957 and inherited the honorific "Sakhalin". The division was awarded the Order of the Red Banner.[1] The 79th Rifle Division fought in the Invasion of South Sakhalin in 1945 and was based at Leonidovo for most of its career.[2]
The 79th traces its history back to the formation of the Sakhalin Rifle Division on 17 August 1938. In January 1939, the division became the 79th Mountain Rifle Division, commanded by Kombrig Ivan Makarenko. In 1940, it was converted into the 79th Rifle Division. It became part of the 16th Army's 56th Rifle Corps in 1943. During August and September 1945, the division fought in the Invasion of South Sakhalin. For its actions in the invasion, the division was awarded the honorific "Sakhalin".[3][4] During the battle for south Sakhalin, 179th Rifle Regiment Battalion commander Captain Leonid Smirnykh was posthumously awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union after his battalion captured 5 bunkers and Smirnykh was killed by sniper fire.[5] Sergeant Anton Buyukly was also made a Hero of the Soviet Union posthumously in 1965 for his sacrifice in blocking a bunker firing slit with his body.[6]
The division became the 79th Motor Rifle Division on 17 May 1957 in Leonidovo, part of the 15th Army. In March 1960, it became part of the 2nd Army Corps. On 22 February 1968, it was awarded the Order of the Red Banner on the Soviet Army's 50th anniversary.[4] The division became part of the 51st Army in 1977. During the Cold War, the division was maintained at 15% strength. In 1994, the division was disbanded.[1]
Soviet Union (to 1991)
Russia (1991–1994)
Order of the Red Banner
Divisions of the Soviet Union 1945–1957