407th Rifle Division

The 407th Rifle Division (Russian: 407-я стрелковая дивизия) was an infantry division of the Red Army that was briefly active shortly after World War II, from August 1945 to early 1946. The division, the first Red Army rifle division created after the war in Europe, was formed from the second formation of the 94th Separate Rifle Brigade (94-я отдельная стрелковая бригада), which had been formed in early 1943 for garrison duty at the port city of Sukhumi in Georgia.

History

The 94th Separate Rifle Brigade (Second formation) was formed as part of the 13th Rifle Corps of the Transcaucasian Front between 24 February and 15 April 1943 at Sukhumi, from two separate mountain rifle detachments, and was brought up to strength with conscripts of the 1926 draft class. It included three rifle battalions and submachine gun, 107 mm mortar, anti-tank gun, and artillery battalions as well as smaller support units. Colonel Shalva Melkadze, the Georgian deputy commander of the nearby 406th Rifle Division, became commander on 5 March. The brigade was responsible for the defense of the Black Sea coast in the vicinity of Sukhumi from Primorskoye to the mouth of the Rion River, with elements based at Sukhumi, Novy Afon, Ochamchire, and Beslakhuba. In 1943, the brigade sent five march companies to provide replacements for units engaged in combat. By September of that year, the brigade was almost at full strength, though only 32% of its personnel had combat experience in the war. It was ethnically mixed, with 24% Russians, 21% Azerbaijanis, 20% Georgians, and 16.8% Armenians. Melkadze was transferred to serve as deputy commander of the neighbouring 392nd Rifle Division in February 1944, and was succeeded by Lieutenant Colonel Georgy Shchadin, the former chief of staff of a tank brigade, who was promoted to colonel on 3 February 1945.