59th Guards Motor Rifle Division The 59th Guards Kramatorsk Order of Red Banner , Order of Suvorov , Order of Bogdan Khmelnitsky Motor - Rifle Division of the Soviet Union ' s Red Army was initially formed near Krasnodar in March 1942 as the 197th Rifle Division ( 2nd formation ) . On the division ' s formation Colonel ( from 14 . 10 . 1942 major - general ) M . I . Zaporozhchenko took command , who stayed with the division until February 1943 . Its second commander was Major - General G . P . Karamyshev from February 1943 up to the end of the war . On the formation of the 197th Rifle Division the major subunits were the 828th , 862nd , 889th Rifle , 261st Artillery Regiments , as well as other support units . Upon becoming Guards the designations of the subunits changed to the 176th , 179th , and 183rd Guards Rifle and 127 Guards Artillery Regiments , and 66th Guards Independent Sapper Battalion . Combat history . The division was assigned initially to the 63rd Army ( since November 1942 the 1st Guards Army , and since December 1942 3rd Guard Army ) , 6th Army , and eventually the 46th Army within which it ended the war . The division saw combat for the first time during the Battle of Stalingrad from July to December 1942 as part of the 63rd Army ( which became the 1st Guards Army on 1 November 1942 ) . During fierce fighting in the Veshenskaya area , parts of the division along with other Soviet units repelled the approach of the German forces . Having forced the Don river in the El ' yanskoye area , the division seized a bridgehead which was subsequently used to stage a Soviet counter - attack . In these engagements the division destroyed up to 2 , 000 enemy troops , and much military equipment and weapons . The division participated in Operation Little Saturn between 16 and 30 December 1942 . The division , in conjunction with other formations of the 1st Guards Army ( which was renamed the 3rd Guards Army on 5 December 1942 ) traversed over 200 kilometers , liberated 170 settlements , including the city of Voroshilovgrad ( now Lugansk ) on 14 February 1943 , and captured around 8 , 000 pieces of enemy equipment . For its courage , tenacity , and heroism the division was honored and renamed the 59th Guards Rifle Division on 3 January . The division ’ s next combat participation was in the Donbass Offensive and the Barvenkov – Pavlograd Offensive operation ( 13 . 08 - 22 . 09 . 1943 ) in the Don basin and liberating the Donbass region . For it ’ s efforts in capturing the city of Kramatorsk on 6 September 1943 it was awarded the honorific name ‘ Kramator ’ on 8 September 1943 by the Order of High Command No . 9 on the same day During the liberation of Kramatorsk the division was supported by the 5th Guards Independent Motor - Rifle Brigade and the 243rd Independent Tank Regiment The division also supported clearing the city of Zaporozhye of the enemy on 14 October 1943 , in conjunction with other units . For its exemplary battle skills and valour the division was awarded the Order of the Red Banner on 14 October 1943 . During the 1944 Nikopolsk – Krivorozhsk Offensive ( ) operation ( 30 . 01 - 29 . 02 ) the division fought first as part of 3rd Guards Army , and then as part of 6th Army together with the 61st Guards Rifle Division , 203rd Rifle , and the 320th Rifle Division divisions of the 34th Guards Rifle Corps . For the skilful performance of combat tasks and courage of the division ' s troops it was awarded the Order of Suvorov , 2nd degree , on 13 February 1944 . In the following months , the division was part of the attack toward Odessa , and was the first formation to enter the city on 10 April 1944 despite the bad road conditions , crossing the river lines of the Ingulets , Ingul , and Southern Bug rivers in the process . The division was awarded the Order of Bogdan Khmelnitsky , 2nd degree on 20 April 1944 for its courage and heroism in clearing the city of Odessa . In the summer of the same year the division , as part of the 46th Army ( with which it remained to the end of the war ) , 3rd Ukrainian Front , the division participated in the Yassy - Kishinev Offensive operation . As part of the offensive the division broke through the Wehrmacht defense to the east of Bendery , fighting on the left shore of lake Kitai , and cut off the withdrawal route to parts of German III Army Corps . Pursuing the retreating German troops , the division crossed the Soviet - Romanian border on August , 28th near the city of Reni , 25 kilometres to the East of Galați . On 8 September , the Bulgarian border was also crossed as the division was transferred to the 2nd Ukrainian Front for the Belgorod Offensive ( 28 . 09 - 20 . 10 ) . From October 1944 to February 1945 the division took part in the Battle of Debrecen and the initial phase of the Budapest Offensive , the Kechkemet - Budapest Offensive operation . During this operation the commander of the 179th Rifle Regiment , T . N . Artem ’ yev was awarded Hero of Soviet Union for heroic performance in combat . 1945 . The last stages of the division ’ s combat path during World War II was the participation in the Vienna Offensive ’ s D ' er Offensive operation ( ) , during which the division ’ s active and resolute actions to the north of Vienna led to the Red Army ’ s capture of the Austrian capital on 13 April 1945 . The division ’ s combat operations finished in the Freistadt area , north of Linz , in May 1945 . For their performance during the Great Patriotic War over 4 , 000 soldiers were awarded awards and medals , and 19 given the Gold Star of the Hero of the Soviet Union . Voroshilovograd , Donbas , Zaporozh ' ye , and Nikopol ' - Krivoy - Rog , Odessa and Iasi - Kishinev operations , the Battle of Romania and Bulgaria , and finally in the Battle of Debrecen , and the Budapest and Vienna operations . Cold War era . After the war the division became the 59th Guards Motor Rifle Division ( GMRD ) in 1957 . It joined the 14th Guards Red Banner Army and remained at Tiraspol for the next two decades . In 1974 the 14th Combined Arms Army became a part of the Odessa Military District , which had been awarded the Order of the Red Banner in 1968 . The Army headquarters was in city of Tiraspol , with the 59th GMRD garrisoned in the city as well . In December , 1972 , for excellence in protection of Soviet territory and high marks in combat and political preparedness , the division was awarded the Minister of Defence of the USSR ' s Pendant for Courage and Military Valour . Order of battle , late 1980s . On 19 November 1990 the division had the following equipment : 1990s . Two former battalions of 179th Guards Motor - Rifle Regiment , ( now independent ) located at Dubossary and Bendery have carried out peacekeeping functions together with Moldavian and Transnistrian soldiers since May 1996 . On 1 June 1997 the 59th Guards Motor Rifle Division was reorganised as the 8th Guards Independent Motor - Rifle Brigade with four motor - rifle battalion s , one tank battalion , two artillery battalion s , and an anti - tank battalion plus other combat support and support units . From 1 December 1999 two motor - rifle battalions were officially removed from the Russian Ground Forces organisation and transferred to the Combined Peacekeeping Forces command . 8th Guards Motor Rifle Brigade . The reorganised 8th Guards Motor Rifle Brigade comprised the following units : In December 2002 the brigade was disbanded , and the remaining personnel , numbering 5 , 719 effectives were absorbed into the Peacekeeping Forces command . As a result of reduction in the strength of the Operational Group ( commander General - Major Boris Sergeyev ) the remaining strength as of 2006 is about 1 , 000 - 1 , 500 troops , and comprises :